Parallel Lines
by nite0wl29
Summary: Rey Kanata is a senior in high school, a girl from the city who just moved into the country life surrounding Mishawaka, IN. When she takes a class in Agricultural Science as the only elective needed in order to graduate, her life changes irrevocably on the first day when she meets her teacher, Ben Solo.
1. The First Semester

***First thing's first, this IS a high school student/teacher AU, so if this trope isn't your thing please feel free to ignore. Second, NOTHING happens while Rey is under age. If you're good with all of the above, enjoy 3.**

Being the new kid in town wasn't exactly new for Rey Kanata. After attending three schools in the last three years, it was starting to become easier for her to not get too attached to anything she'd eventually leave behind.

Of course, that didn't stop her Aunt Maz from trying to convince her that moving to Mishawaka, Indiana was about to be different.

Never despise meager beginnings is what her aunt would always say, though Rey was starting to believe it was simply becoming her aunt's favored choice of words to make the move easier each time.

Rey loved her aunt dearly, but for once it would be nice to stay in the same place rather than having to pack the back half of Maz's classic 1977 Chevy Buick Station Wagon and move, leaving what few friends she had made that year behind. Plus, she was more than certain that the old Buick wasn't always going to be up for making such long-distance trips.

When they finally settled into their apartment in the suburbs outside Orlando, Florida, the opportunity arose for her aunt to accept the position of becoming head nurse for an early day shift at Kindred Hospital of Northern Indiana.

Unfortunately, it was smack dab in the middle of farm country.

Rey begrudgingly traded in the beaches and stifling heat of Florida for the milder temperatures of cornfields and cow pastures in Indiana. If there was one plus side about the exchange, it was that she was more than happy to give up the bus rides and walk the short one-mile distance from their two-bedroom apartment to her new school.

The disadvantage was waking up half an hour early to face the angry red digits reading 6:00 A.M. on the face of her digital alarm clock so that she'd make it there before classes started at 8:00.

After having successfully hit the clock's snooze button in acknowledgment of the resounding, high-pitched beeps, she was left with the steady sound of Bee-Bee's wheel strumming along inside his cage at the far side of her room. As adorable as her little orange teddy bear hamster was, she could admit to being not so fond of him at such early hours in the morning – during weekdays at least – when she was trying to catch some desperately needed sleep.

After the fifth or sixth attempt at slamming her fist on the snooze button, alternating with the squeaks of the annoying rodent's wheel, she grumbled a few choice obscenities through gritted teeth and surrendered to the need of waking up.

She went about her usual morning routine: showering and dressing in attire that was slightly less trendy than those styles favored by the average high school prep. She loved jeans and hoodies and would wear pajamas out if they were appropriate.

It being the first day at a new school, she chose to go with a dark pair of skinny jeans and a loose-fitting white t-shirt with Hawaiian-colored print and a surf board from Ron Jon's Surf Shop along with her favorite navy blue pair of Tom's. She may have also chosen them for the sheer fact that she'd never made the slightest effort to unpack the half-dozen boxes of clothes and accessories that remained stacked in two towers in her room beyond that of her laptop and other daily essentials.

She even made the extra effort to run the flat iron through her hair to straighten out the blow-dried frizz and dabbed a light powdery layer of bronzer over the sun-kissed skin on her face before making her way down the apartment's short hallway to the kitchen for some breakfast.

The dull appearance of the apartment's main living space mirrored that of her bedroom. Other than the 34-inch flat screen TV mounted to the far wall opposite the leather couch and love seat that were accompanied by a small, circular coffee table, the walls were left bare and undecorated. Several cardboard boxes remained unpacked and stacked along the wall near the patio doors from having moved into the new residence not more than a few days prior to Rey starting at her new school and her aunt having to start her job at the hospital.

She had expected her aunt to already be gone by the time she needed to wake up. It was something that she'd grown relatively used to since she'd come into Aunt Maz's custody in the states from London at the age of ten. Now, at the age of seventeen, Rey never allowed the feeling of being alone to subside. In most cases, she sought the comfort of strumming a few soothing chords on her mom's acoustic Fender guitar.

As quickly as the unwanted thoughts came to mind, Rey pushed them aside. She didn't feel like showing up to her first day of classes with bloodshot eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

Flipping the wall switch to turn the overhead kitchen light on, she regarded the handwritten note on a small piece of half-folded notebook paper lying on the kitchen counter next to the microwave by the refrigerator with a twenty dollar bill displayed on top.

 **Rey, I've only got twenty bucks. Try to make it count for the week's school lunches.**

 **Love you and I hope you have a great day at school!**

 **-Maz**

"I will, Maz." Rey muttered to the empty room, as if Maz was standing somewhere behind her and could hear her reply.

She quickly made up a boring bowl of Wheaties with a handful of fresh blueberries to mix in for some added flavor. Taking a seat at the diminutive table that proclaimed the small area as the dining room, Rey took it upon herself to glance over the itinerary of classes that was within the pile of scattered, random papers.

The first three periods of the day looked to be relatively easy, ones that she took an ideal amount of interest in: Language Arts, World History, and Music.

The next class, the longest class of the day accompanied by the lunch hour, was Agricultural Sciences. Whatever the hell had possessed her to choose the class as her last remaining elective that she needed credit-wise in order to graduate, Rey would never know. She chided herself for picking a class that consisted of everything that she hated: getting her hands dirty (on purpose) and learning about plants. Hell, she could never keep the hardiest of indoor plants alive for longer than a week! What was so interesting about fucking corn and soy beans that there needed be a class about them? Wasn't that what general biology or basic science was for?

She took a fleeting glance at the agriculture teacher's name that was among the other listed names of teachers that she would have to suffer listening to for an entire year: Benjamin Solo.

"He's probably some bald dude with a beer gut that spits, and chews tobacco, and prowls dating websites that cater to farmers," Rey declared to the paper, snorting at her own humor.

She looked over the remaining afternoon classes before stealing a needed glance at the stove's timer, which said 7:15 A.M. She quickly mowed down the rest of her cereal and placed the empty bowl and spoon in the dishwasher before tending to the hairy rodent in her bedroom. She gave Bee-Bee a fresh bottle of water and a small scoop of dried fruit and pellets for his food bowl.

"Wish me luck today, buddy," Rey said to the rodent with a sigh, as if he had the ability to talk back like one of the chipmunks from the cartoon. "I'm definitely going to need it."

She chuckled lightheartedly at the orange and white ball of fluff as he wiggled his way out from one of the cage's interlocking colorful tubes to stuff his cheeks full of food, which now looked as if he were harboring golf balls in them.

Making sure she had everything she would need for the day, Rey gave the inside of her backpack a final glance over: class list and locker number with combination, trapper-keeper, and notebooks to designated classes were all held accountable for.

She shoved the lunch money from Maz into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled the straps of her backpack over her shoulders, making certain that she had grabbed her iPhone from the cordless charging dock on the kitchen counter along with her earbuds before taking on the mile-long hike to school. She welcomed the warm, morning breeze of summer's end and focused on the calming lyrics of Oasis to help ease the unwarranted 'first day of school' jitters in her stomach.

"Just give it a few good kicks and it should open."

Rey issued a look of annoyance to the owner of the voice coming from the locker on her left: locker number 2187 to be more precise.

She instantly met the friendly face and dark russet-brown eyes of a boy that harbored a more than amused expression. She wondered if her struggle with the locker that she had been battling over the last three periods had been that obvious. "Excuse me?" She blinked while asking.

"I had 2186 last year," he admitted with an acknowledging nod towards the corresponding locker. He gave her an amused smirk that showed off his pearly whites before tending to his own combination. "Sometimes you have to talk a little dirty to it and give it a few good kicks for it to open."

Rey gave him a wary laugh, but did what he had suggested. She gave the locker door a few good punches with the side of her fist and apprehensively pulled up on the handle. Her shoulders instantly slouched along with a noticeable sigh of relief when it finally opened.

"Thank you so much," she stated thankfully. She all but heaved the growing-heavy backpack that had been holding three classes' worth of biblical-sized textbooks from her shoulders to the ground, making her knees bend into a crouched position along with it. "I was starting to think that I was going to have to carry around every textbook from today."

He chuckled as he reached slightly above his head to place his own books on the top shelf of his locker. "You must be new here. I haven't seen you around before."

Rey grimaced at his declaration as she bent to grab her books from her backpack. "Is it that obvious?" she asked hesitantly, fearing that she'd already made a fool of herself before the morning had officially ended.

"No," he stated shortly with a defensive shake of his head. "It's just that after sharing the same hall with the same people year after year, you begin to remember who's in your class." Shoving in the last textbook he had been holding, the young man closed the locker door and turned to face her, leaning against it. "I'm Finn, by the way. What's your name?"

"Rey," she obliged him with a smile. "And yes, I just moved here a few days ago with my aunt from Florida."

"Florida, huh?" Finn asked, giving her a surprised backwards jerk of his head. "Why in the hell would you leave paradise to come up here?"

Rey laughed, finally managing to rid herself of the last textbook on the bottom shelf. Wrestling her trapper-keeper loose from the bag's confinement, she quickly stood to hang her backpack on its designated hook at the back of her locker's narrow interior.

"I wouldn't have necessarily called it paradise," she admitted, shutting the door with an exaggeratedly forceful push of her hand. She gripped her trapper-keeper in a loose cross-fold over her chest as she turned to face him. "The only thing that I miss about that Hell on Earth is the beaches that it had to offer."

"Fair enough," Finn replied with a curt nod. He moved to walk along with her in the direction that she was going down the center of the hall through the crazed hustle and bustle of their quick-passing period. "So, what class are you off to now?"

"Agriculture," she groaned with an acknowledging roll of her eyes.

Finn quickly shot her a quizzical glance, prominently arching his eyebrow. "You're kidding, right?"

"I wish I was."

Finn chuckled. "I would ask why, but I would hate to insult you having only known you for less than two minutes. For all I know, you could very much be a farmer."

"Trust me, I would hardly classify it to be an insult," she affirmed, turning sideways just a bit to angle her way through the crowd down the main hallway.

"Well, good luck with Solo as your teacher," Finn stated matter-of-factly. Unlike Rey, he shoved his way through the growing swell of bodies, indifferent as to who he was bumping shoulders with. "I've heard he's been known to even make the linebackers cry."

Rey couldn't stifle the overly dramatic whimper from her lips. "That's what I was afraid of. So, I guess there will be no sleeping with my head down in that class?"

"I wouldn't if I were you."

She sighed at that. Fucking go figure. "What class do you have?"

"World History with Holdo," he mumbled out.

"Oh, I had her for second period! You already have homework," she affirmed with a goading smirk.

"I wouldn't have expected anything less," Finn stated, pausing before the threshold of the ascending stairwell to the building's second floor. "Anyways, if I remember correctly from those that have had Solo's lunch schedule, we might have lunch together. I can introduce you to the rest of my group of friends then."

"That would be great," she stated with an appreciative smile. "I'll see you then!"

"Awesome!" Finn replied with a grin. "I'll see you later, Rey."

They parted abruptly to go their separate ways. Finn's class was located down a shorter corridor perpendicular to the main hallway.

Of course, Agriculture had to be the classroom that was stationed within the furthest remote regions of the school's main floor. It was one of those dimly-lit halls that appeared to be mostly vacant half the time in a sector where she expected to see a tumbleweed roll across the tile flooring with soft and eerie music playing in the background.

She took a needed glance at the class schedule in her hand to confirm the room number that hung off to the side of the door: 501-B. She took a breath before allowing her head to peek hesitantly inside the designated classroom.

It definitely came to her as no surprise that the room was virtually empty of students with only a minute remaining of the current passing period before the bell would ring, marking the beginning of classes. Other than the lone occupant that was squeezed into a ridiculously small seat (for his size) of a desk at the forefront of the rows with his head lowered facing a book on the desk top, she was even more surprised to not see a teacher in sight.

Good, maybe he's off checking the Farmer's Only website.

Rey leisurely passed over the classroom's threshold with hesitant steps, remaining quiet so as not to disturb the student that appeared to be too heavily engrossed within the book that he was reading to notice her presence.

She acknowledged the cold chill from the air conditioning kicking on with a noticeable shudder that traveled up her back and over her shoulders whilst attempting to take in her newfound surroundings. The white walls were surprisingly well-decorated with pictures of vivid sunsets glazing over fields of gold: some had barns, naturally, in the background while others had short phrases which offered words of wisdom over corn fields with bright blue skies.

Not bad for a teacher that's rumored to be so dreadful.

Rey didn't realize that she had been at a standstill just before the teacher's desk at the center front of the room, gawking at the pictures that only appeared to be more enhanced with the late morning sun's rays shining through the half-drawn shades before the low voice jerked her awake from the trance-like state.

"You're early."

Her shoulders twitched embarrassingly with a short gasp as she hadn't expected the room's only occupant to speak. She turned her head just slightly from the wall that she had been focused upon to meet the intense dark eyes that were partially hidden behind narrow, black-framed glasses.

The prominently distinct features of his face were framed by layers of obsidian locks. A black and red checkered, button-up shirt clung tightly to his excessively broad shoulders and biceps. Four clasps that remained unbuttoned at the top around his shirt collar allowed the hem of the white t-shirt to peek out from underneath. Its long sleeves had been rolled up to his elbows.

She allowed her eyes to trail lower to notice the dark jeans that clung snuggly to his muscular legs; which were hilariously too long as he had to keep them outstretched under the desk and crossed at the ankles. Becoming too engrossed within his appearance, she failed to notice that he had been doing the same to her.

Oh God, he's fucking gorgeous!

When her eyes finally met his once again, she couldn't help noticing that he looked to be older than the average student. But then, Rey had always been one that was mistaken to be in her mid-twenties by those that didn't know any better. She estimated him to at least be a senior – at least she hoped. It would certainly make the days of talking dirty about corn and soy beans go a lot smoother.

"Yeah, um –" She laughed a little nervously as she stumbled over her words whilst moving to claim the seat next to his. "Am I not supposed to be or something?"

He shrugged his shoulders with indifference while his elbows easily reached beyond the desk's edges with his hands lightly clasped together over the content that he was reading: hands that appeared to be larger than any she had ever seen on the average high school kid.

Rey began to imagine in her mind what those hands could to do her. Maybe he wouldn't be opposed to sneaking out sometime during class? She may have been a virgin, but it never hindered her mind from wandering off with explicit thoughts at times.

"Typically, nobody ever shows up early to Ag class," he finally spoke. "You must be pretty anxious to begin."

She laughed at the lighthearted mocking as she tucked a chunk of auburn hair behind her ear, feeling herself become surprisingly more comfortable in his presence. "Yeah, well, I guess I better not get too used to it. From what I hear, the teacher is a real prick."

His brows perked up in surprise. She began to wonder if she had inadvertently insulted him in some way before he finally smirked with an added chuckle. "So I've heard," he finally admitted as his eyes flickered lightly over her face.

The intensity that initially lingered in his eyes began to soften. "What's your name?"

The corners of her mouth twitched into a smile that acknowledged the slight flutter in her chest. Catching her bottom lip between her top front teeth, Rey felt a subtle blush creep over her cheeks. "I'm Rey, and you?"

He considered her momentarily with a knowing look on his face before the chattering herd of students flocked their way into the classroom, causing him to break their staredown and slide out of his seat with the book that he'd been reading in hand.

Rey scoffed at his abrupt departure. Had she said something wrong? She was certain that it hadn't been the case as she had only asked for his name, but then who knew with boys nowadays.

She blinked away from the self-proclaimed cowboy that slid into the seat where her former companion in conversation had once been, not realizing that she had remained staring at the empty seat with a puzzled expression on her face. Her nose scrunched up at the staggering smell of manure that appeared to be reeking from the dried brown substance on the soles of his cowboy boots that made her upper lip curl in disgust.

Not realizing that she had still been clinging to her trapper-keeper, she turned her attention to settling it on her desk with a disgruntled sigh and focused on its seemingly better light blue appearance than the filth on the bottom of the boy's shoes.

"Anyone else smell that?" a girl asked no one in particular from her seat directly behind Rey's.

"So, funny story…" the self-proclaimed cowboy next to Rey began to say in apparent defense before he was abruptly cut off mid-sentence at the sound of the final bell.

Silence immediately followed as everyone focused their attention on the man standing in the front and center of the classroom.

"What's up, Mr. Solo?" spoke another male student that was sitting at the opposite end of the room.

Rey looked up to see the same dark eyes boring intently into hers as he took a haphazard seat on the teacher's desk so that his long legs were now dangling slightly over the edge. The book with the unforeseen title that he held before was no longer in his hands as they were now tightly gripping the desk's edge.

Her lips went slightly agape as he smiled at her coyly, but his former reserved demeanor quickly grew serious as he broke their gaze to direct his attention toward addressing the rest of the class.

"Listen up! We've got a lot to cover today, so let's try to make this less miserable for everyone."

Rey instantly felt the color drain from her cheeks.

Oh shit...


	2. Mr. Solo

For precisely 6 years Ben Solo had been teaching sophomores, juniors and seniors alike at Mishawaka High School.

He came to know a majority of the students after having them year after year. Most newcomers he recognized simply by looking at their last name on his roster; whether he knew them by their active participation in school sports or had taught a sibling of theirs in the past.

It seemed like a lot of names and faces to remember (only 500), but for Ben it came to be as easy as memorizing the numbers of his social security and driver's license. He was good at remembering faces and even better at pinpointing those that would give him problems in class intentionally, segregating them from the students that cared enough to learn about Agricultural Science.

His personal favorites were the jocks and cheerleaders, the ones who always believed that they could pass the class just by showing up, thinking it to be a subject that involved discussions merely about corn and wheat.

Candidly they weren't that far off, but there was so much more to the topic than just differentiating seeds and showing how they were planted. There were also opportunities to participate in 4-H shows at the local county fair.

Ben knew that based on first-hand experience that the class also revolved around equestrians and livestock. His parents raised Morgan thoroughbreds as show horses for years on their 30-acre ranch, roughly 10 miles from Notre Dame's campus. That was until his father had been forced into early retirement.

Anyhow, that topic was a bit of a sore spot. He never cared to enlighten his students about that right off the bat; most of them typically requested to transfer to another subject, like Study Hall, after suffering his lectures about crops and dirt for a few weeks.

Those who were brave enough to stay always assumed that bribing him was the next best route to take when attempting to earn their A in class. Generally they were the ones who fell asleep during lectures – no, 'accidentally fell asleep' is what they would say. Not that he could blame them, really, but it was an excuse that he very rarely allowed to slide by.

If having girls shove their tits in his face wasn't enough to earn their way out of detention, they begrudgingly would revert to saying something like, 'I'm sorry, Professor. I'd hate to be punished for my mistake.'

He would pause and consider them momentarily as they batted their eyelashes excessively, and lavish in watching their faces fall when they'd still earn a trip to after-school detention. Generally he had them needlessly clean the farming tools and equipment in the Ag's storage shed.

He anticipated the current school year to be no different than those in the past. He took a quick glance over the fourth period roster before the hour and recognized several of the names from the year prior while a few were newer. Out of a class of 15 he knew a majority of them wouldn't be an issue. That was until he came upon one name that stuck out from the rest.

Rey Kanata.

The moment Ben saw her walk into his classroom, appearing to be lost in a daze, he considered himself doomed on the spot. He was happy for the t-shirt underneath his plaid button-up to hide the fact that he was sweating anxiously and his palms were embarrassingly clammy.

There was an aura around her that made him instantly want to know everything about her that he didn't know already; things that went beyond the subtle trail of freckles dabbling her subtly bronzed cheeks and over her nose when she took the seat next to him, and that her eyes were a beautiful shade of hazel.

When she told him her name, it rolled off his muted tongue pleasantly, sweet like honey. Her British accent played like music to his ears.

That feisty gleam in her eye when she inadvertently insulted him was already enough to win his heart. Nobody ever dared to be up front with him to his face – intentionally or not. Her indirect slur should've been more than enough cause to send her directly to detention. With anyone else, he most assuredly would've.

He did consider having her stay after school just so he could have the chance to talk to her, but that only made the reality of the situation that much worse. Rey was his student and, unfortunately, he was her teacher for the longest period of the day: just enough to make him suffer and pine over how badly he wanted to be one of the students sitting next to her that she initially portrayed him to be.

Christ, how old is she even? 17? 18? He hoped for the latter of the two, though it wasn't likely to help him out of his significant momentary crisis.

Still, it wasn't enough to deter him from his mission of getting her to talk within the remaining 10 minutes before class dismissed for lunch, and she would be gone afterwards for the remainder of the day.

It was harmless – right? Because that's what students typically did when teachers stared at them imploringly for minutes on end.

It was definitely wrong for him to be jealous of Rey's seat when she would slink further into it…

What in the hell is wrong with you?

He was a fucking professional that was now chiding himself over wanting to be an inanimate object that she was sitting on – she being a student. He resorted to pacing across the front of seven rows of desks with his arms loosely crossed, hoping that it appeared to be less obvious that he was giving two lectures instead of one.

"Without looking at your textbook," he asked openly, "who can name me the three classifications of soil?"

He watched the hands raise like a broad ripple over the classroom, though only one made him smile inwardly and sigh that she'd relieved him of anticipation. He paused in front of the row to the right of her desk when he was finally able to say her name aloud since roll call, eyeing her expectantly.

"Rey."

It took a moment for Rey to realize that he'd called her; even if it was obvious that she was the only girl present with the name. She lowered her hand hesitantly, straightening her shoulders and clearing her throat before speaking the answer she knew to be correct.

"Loam, clay and sand."

Ben nodded, "Very good." He began to stroll casually towards her, deciding to challenge her a little further. "Now, which is the better of the three?"

Rey chewed her bottom lip in thought, scoffing at her mechanical pencil that she was twirling in three fingers with both hands.

"Loam," she replied tentatively.

"Why?"

Rey took a breath, risking a glance at Ben to see that he was staring down at her intensely, precisely in front of her desk. She could see the sleeves of his shirt clinging to his arms, enhancing the bulging muscles of his biceps. She wondered what it would be like to touch those arms.

"Because," she swallowed, "unlike clay and sand, loam is rich in air pockets and nutrients. It enables it to retain moisture without being bogged down."

Ben nodded again.

"Well done, Miss Kanata," he replied. He offered her a barely noticeable smirk prior to directing his attention to the rest of the class. "We'll be heading out to the greenhouse tomorrow to get a head start on our annual class experiment. Typically, we do this later in the semester, but I'd like to change things up a bit this year."

His brows puckered when he glanced down at the watch hugging his wrist and frowned. "You're all free to go."

The class immediately erupted with anxious chatter that had long been held confined. Rey heaved a sigh, having survived her first day in a class that she'd expected to go entirely different than she originally thought.

She gathered the newly acquired textbook along with the trapper-keeper and notebook in her arms. She intended to make a quick exit as she rose from her seat, flinching as she nearly walked straight into Ben's bulky form. Her neck arched back, giving him a wide-eyed look in surprise.

"So, not only are you the first to arrive to class, but you're also the last to leave," he teased. "Should I feel privileged, or is that reaching a bit?"

Rey snorted lightheartedly, hugging the items in her grasp flush against her chest. "The latter. Definitely."

Ben chuckled. "You actually impressed me quite a bit today, Miss Kanata. I guess you were pretty eager to learn about the beneficial types of soil."

Rey genuinely laughed at that, glancing down at her feet. "Should I feel privileged, then, that I managed to satisfy the hardest teacher to impress in school?"

He gave her a knowing look, his eyes trailing over her face like he was memorizing Rey's every feature. "Maybe."

She shouldn't have blushed, but Rey couldn't stop the shade of pink from powdering her cheeks. Her shoulders angled as she turned to move past him in the row that suddenly felt too constricting. "Well, no offense, but my grade kinda depends on it. I have no choice."

Ben shrugged, pretending to not be hurt over the remark. He folded his arms whilst slowly trailing after her. "I guess, if push comes to shove, there's always Study Hall or Home Ec. Easy A classes from what I've been told."

She paused in front of the first two rows of desks, cocking her head whilst turning to face him. "Is that you speaking from experience with past students?"

Again, he shrugged. "Maybe."

Rey found it hard to stop her eyes from meeting his imploring gaze. The way he spoke to her now, precisely when they were alone, was entirely different than his uptight demeanor in class. She shifted her weight on the soles of her shoes, licking her lips in thought.

"About that thing – you know – what I said earlier…" she said with a casual wave of her hand.

Why is it so hard to not sound like a babbling idiot with him? "I am so, so sorry for what I said."

He gave her a look that was meant to be goading. "Oh, you mean earlier when you called me a prick?"

"I didn't know it was you! Why didn't you say something?"

Ben chuckled, finding it amusing how easy she was to get riled up. "Would it have changed your opinion about me if I would've?"

Yes. "I don't know," she shrugged, eyeing him pensively. "You can be pretty intense at times, though."

Ben cocked his head at her slightly, considering her whilst nervously shoving his hands into his front pockets. Her opinion of him really shouldn't have mattered. It never did with anyone else. "Should I take that as a good or bad thing?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, toeing her shoe on the tile. "I haven't decided yet."

He should've just left it at that. It would've been the more professional and obvious thing to do. Instead, the better half of his reasoning faltered when he smiled at her crookedly, his words betraying every red flag waving in his mind. "I guess I better try a little harder, then."

The corners of her lips quirked into a smile as Rey chewed her bottom lip, fingering the ridges of her trapper-keeper's zipper. Neither had been certain as to how long they stood staring at one another: a few seconds or minutes, perhaps? She blinked when Ben knowingly cleared his throat.

"You better go," he urged gently with a hint of regret in his voice. "Will you be here early tomorrow, or should I expect you to show up with the rest of the herd?"

It was Rey's turn to give him a teasing glare.

"I'll think on it," she replied whilst turning to leave, saying her final words over her shoulder. "Good luck with the rest of your classes, Mr. Solo."

Ben. He considered correcting her, but for once his brain managed to resist the tightness in his chest. "You too, Rey."

By the time Rey managed to make the trek from the Ag hall to her locker, and then to the commons area where the students gathered for lunch, there was hardly enough of a lunch line to call it 'a line.' It gave her more than enough time to gather her initial thoughts about a certain agriculture teacher.

Was Mr. Solo actually flirting with her? Or was he simply being nice?

She immediately ruled out the factor that he had the ability to play nice with all of his students when his vile reputation seemed to catch up with him from time to time during class. She was rather keen on his reactions when students had the gall to speak out while he was in the middle of a lecture.

She noticed how he would pace, clenching his fists behind his back, like it was taking every ounce of his composure not to lash out at the class as a whole. Surprisingly, he kept his wits together and remained calm. Not that she blamed him, either. It was rude of them and rather annoying, to say the least, even if most of the lecture had been Mr. Solo talking dirty talk.

Literally, it was about dirt for an entire 45 minutes, but Rey also knew that her grade depended on listening to such talk. Besides, it wasn't so bad listening to him…

She surpassed the questionable entrees that resembled thrown-together piles of mush and went for the salad bar. Begrudgingly, because it was significantly more expensive and against her usual eating habits, but Rey was desperate. She was surprised that her stomach hadn't started to eat itself yet.

By the time she found Finn sitting at a rounded table in the far corner of the commons with his friends, she had approximately 15 minutes left of the original 35-minute lunch period to gag down the pile of greens in her bowl.

Finn merrily introduced her to the few friends that were with him. He started with Poe Dameron, the typical city boy who was captain of the school's football team. He was undeniably attractive to say the least and one that noticeably attempted to take advantage of every opportunity that he could to talk to her.

There was also Rose Tico: a very petite girl with longish dark hair and black-rimmed glasses. Her smile stretched from her lips all the way to her dark eyes with a laugh that could be heard in a straight shot across the school.

Finally, he introduced Dopheld Mitaka, whom they simply referred to as 'Mitaka' – for obvious reasons. Rey tried not to laugh at his name because he was nice when he actually decided to talk. He had short dark hair with a shaky voice, like he was constantly nervous, to go along with the boyish features of his face. She perceived him to be one that, unfortunately, got picked on a lot.

"So how was Solo's class today?" Finn asked, genuinely curious. "Did he make anyone cry?"

"No, actually," Rey replied, chuckling in remembrance. "But I may have accidentally called him a prick to his face."

Everyone at the table went silent, staring at her with pupils blown wide. Well, everyone except for Poe; he laughed.

"From what I've heard about the guy, it seems the asshole finally had it coming to him," Poe remarked. "Job well done, Rey."

"Yeah," Rose said slowly, in momentary disbelief. "But – how are you not sitting in detention right now? From what I've heard, Solo never lets anyone bypass detention. Like – ever!"

"I didn't know it was him at first. I think he knew that also," Rey replied exasperatedly, ready to drop the subject at this point. "Besides," she shrugged whilst gathering a pile of greens on her fork, "he's not really that bad."

Poe snorted.

"Damn, Rey," Finn pouted. "I thought we were friends! That makes you the official founding member of the Solo Defense Team."

Rey rolled her eyes, shoving the leaves of lettuce into her mouth. The sound of her teeth grinding up the crispy leaves was enough to momentarily drown out the bemused chatter of her newly proclaimed friends, along with the aid of the occasional boisterous laughter from students that were still occupying the commons room.

"I promise," Poe declared sincerely, placing a comforting hand on Finn's shoulder, "pizza and beer will make everything better. My parents might be going out of town this weekend, so possible party at my place."

"Dude, the last time I partied at your place I couldn't remember shit the day after," Finn accused, shrugging his shoulder dramatically to remove Poe's hand. "The fact that I woke up sleeping in your neighbor's backyard tent with my pants wrapped around my waist still remains an unsolved mystery to this day."

Rose nodded, scrunching her nose up along with her lips in remembrance. "Sounds about average. At least for you it is."

Finn blinked, giving Rose a long, scrutinizing look with knitted brows. "Wait, what's average?"

"She's probably talking about the time where you insisted that you go streaking through the neighborhood last Thanksgiving making turkey calls," Mitaka finally remarked with a horrible attempt at keeping a straight face.

Finn and Poe burst into laughter at that, being nearly close to tears when they finally caught their breath several moments later.

Rey snorted, nearly spewing chocolate milk from her nose at her failed attempt to stifle a laugh. "You did what?" she gasped, gazing imploringly at Finn for him to enlighten her on the subject.

"Oh yeah," Poe commented, turning his attention momentarily towards Rey. "You'll have to come this weekend if you can. It's a fun time, especially when Finn is there."

Rey nodded apprehensively. "Sure. I might be able to."

Poe flashed a beaming grin in response. She smiled back nicely to hide the grimace of her gut feeling alerting her that there was something about him that seemed unsettling. She tried to shrug it off – for everyone's sake that was present.

"You know – you do throw some fun-ass parties, and I like you for that," Finn said directly to Poe. "But I also hate you for it."

Poe scoffed, leaning back in his chair with arms crossed behind his head. "I hate you, but I love you. How am I supposed to know what to do with that information?"

"I don't love you," Finn stated frankly with a goading smirk. "But I'm sure Jessika does."

Poe rolled his eyes, sighing a little more dramatically than necessary. "Let the past die, dude. Please, don't bring her up."

Rey barely managed to shove the last bite of food into her mouth when the bell rang, marking the end of fourth period. She fell in step with everyone as they stood from the table, parting to go their separate ways and saying their 'see ya laters' as they went to their designated classrooms.

Rose, on the other hand, accompanied her to the next class as they shared Trigonometry together. That was also after making a quick stop to Rey's locker to grab her necessary supplies.

"So," Rose said accusingly with a quirked brow, "care to enlighten me a little more on Mr. Solo?"

Rey scoffed, giving her a false look of confusion as she grabbed her trapper-keeper and designated notebook from the locker's bottom shelf. Rose seemed nice, but Rey wasn't about to rattle on with details that could be both troublesome to her and the teacher in question.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she lied.

Rose eyed her knowingly, smirking. "Uh huh, well, when you're ready I would love to know the juicy details."

Rey took a breath whilst slamming her locker's door shut. "I swear, there's absolutely nothing that's even remotely juicy to report." Again, it was a lie.

Rose snorted. "The look on your face when you talked about him at lunch was a dead giveaway, but I understand. But just so you know, it is okay to have a crush on a teacher."

Rey pondered her words. This – feeling – that Rose suggested felt like more than just the usual butterflies of a crush. It was definitely something more.


	3. Black Beauty

Today, Rey was better prepared to make the trek to Agriculture from Music Ensemble. She made certain that she had everything needed for Agricultural Sciences prior to going to the morning music class, which was located at the front half of the school near the entrance in its own little B.F.E. (butt fucking Egypt) world while not being as entirely cut-off from society like Mr. Solo's class.

When the period bell rang at precisely 8:40 A.M. Rey was one of the first students to leave class. At the same time she was attempting to make it less apparent that she was anxious to get to her new destination by walking at a semi-fast pace rather than looking like she was running a fucking marathon.

Rey was halfway down the Ag hall when she started second guessing her decision to show up early. Had he been making fun of her, or was he genuinely hoping for her to make the day a repeat of the former?

Then, there was also the hint of optimism that she was able to pinpoint in Mr. Solo's voice at the time. It made the butterflies in her stomach gradually subside whilst encouraging her to question the emotional effect that he rendered over her.

It really, really was a bad idea for her to continue initiating this – concept – when he clearly was a professional who took pride over his job. She paused outside the threshold of his classroom to talk herself down from a momentary state of panic into a more reasonable (and student-like) frame of mind.

It definitely wouldn't hurt to just hold a friendly conversation with him – that was something that could be deemed 'acceptable.' Because every student had that one teacher whom they could relate to, and consider them a person to confide in when needed. She repeated the notion in her head several times before making her grand entrance.

Just like he had been the day before, Mr. Solo was sitting in the same ridiculously small desk next to hers, heavily engrossed in reading his book to notice that she was there at first. Having his hands holding the paperback piece of literature open with them propped upon the desk, she was able to get a glimpse of the novel's back cover. It was a boyish-shade of sky blue, complimenting the darker shade of denim blue on his plaid shirt that he was sporting for the day.

He sure does like wearing plaid.

Claiming the desk next to his, Rey caught a fleeting glimpse of the title running down the spine of the cover in black calligraphy-style font before Mr. Solo finally peeled his attention from the pages and looked at her. His expression border-lined surprise and being pleased to see her: the reaction that Rey was hoping she would see.

"Good morning, Miss Kanata."

"Black Beauty?" Rey immediately asked as she sat sideways in her seat to face him, arching a brow as she planted the books and trapper keeper within her arms on the desk. "I never would've pegged you as one to have such unusual taste in literature, Mr. Solo."

Ben scoffed at the statement and cleared his throat, immediately closing the novel and placing it face down on the desk.

"It's a classic," he corrected in defense and turned only his head towards her. "I always liked the message that it exerted."

His hands lay clasped over the book like they were the day before, like he was shying away some sort of enormous secret that she wasn't suppose to see. Rey wondered if she had inadvertently insulted him once again.

Fuck my luck, she chided under her breath whilst worrying her bottom lip.

"I've never read it before." Rey admitted, hoping that she wasn't sounding any more ignorant than she surely did already. "I just know that it's about a horse."

Ben nodded curtly. "It is, but it also offers a meaning that's something much more than the life of a horse."

"Enlighten me then?" Rey asked humbly.

"Or how about I just let you read it sometime?"

Rey frowned at the offer. She was never the type of person that willingly took the time to read lengthy books that ended up having some sort of surprise tragic ending to them, so spoilers were welcome. It was one of the main reasons why she hated reading Romeo and Juliet in 6th grade and even more that she had to write a book report over the doomed star-crossed lovers.

She couldn't recall how she acquired the weird quirk, other than it began not long after her parents died. She lost count of the days and nights she spent crying to her Aunt Maz for them to come back, only to discover that it was a hopeless aspiration that would never come true. It made sense for her now to admit that she avoided things that would make her feel anything less than happiness: movies and books alike.

"Will it make me cry?" Rey asked, fully aware of how juvenile and naïve the question sounded.

Ben was taken aback by the query, and wondered what prompted her to ask such a thing. He knitted his brows and turned to regard the description on the novel's back cover, pondering over an answer that wasn't going to indulge too much of the story's plot.

It was a very emotional story and one that struck very close to home for him. But Ben also wanted Rey to make the decision for herself, and not base her thoughts off someone else's opinion. He settled on an answer that he thought would be enough to satisfy her reservation.

"I think it's one of those stories that can affect every reader differently," Ben replied, revisiting her stare with a poignant expression. "Some people can relate heavily to it while others can just see it as being nothing but fiction and take nothing from it."

Rey sat silently for a moment, running her tongue between her lips. His explanation was fair and simple, but the timbre which he spoke sounded far more significant than just simply coaxing her into reading a book. He sounded – sad?

"Which one of the two are you?" She asked apprehensively. She held her breath and hoped that she wasn't being too nosy.

Ben considered her question. To anyone else that read Black Beauty it was a simple question that could be answered with a simple answer. Unfortunately, for him it was something much more personal and always opened up the opportunity to discussing horses, which would then lead to discussing a certain forbidden topic.

It wasn't that he didn't want to open up to her about his life; he was just as equally curious about her as she was of him. But this – this was a topic that Ben always kept to himself. His ability to clam up about his past whenever a woman asked anything relevant to it had been the leading cause of death for anything serious to come out of any prolonged relationship with him.

"You sure do ask a lot of questions, Miss Kanata." Ben remarked, purposely changing the subject.

"I thought that's what a student was supposed to do?"

Ben snorted with a smirk. Her fiery tenacity made him admire Rey as much as it made him wish that his mouth would obey his brain and shut up around her. "It's just as much a part of your job as it is mine."

Rey grimaced, aware that his remark was another harsh reminder as to where her status was to him. Mr. Solo was her teacher, and it made the inexplicable need to know more about him seem so much worse. Whatever it was that he wasn't willing to share, it was a sore spot that had to be relevant to Black Beauty and one that she had come close to striking.

She took a breath and nodded, accepting the stand-off even though the cliffhanger had officially piqued her curiosity. Well, that could have gone better.

"There's something that I want to know, too." Ben spoke after a moment's pause, giving her a coy smile. "But I also want to make this fair for both of us. So, I'll answer two of your questions if you answer two of mine – every day that we're here."

Rey scrunched her nose at the proposition, turning her face askew. "Okay. But you have to answer one of mine first."

"Fair enough," he replied with a nod. "What do you want to know?"

"I already asked," she affirmed with raised brows.

Ben paused, sighing exasperated. "You really want to know the answer that bad, huh?"

Rey nodded eagerly, waiting on pins and needles for him to reveal this seemingly larger than life secret.

"It's really not that interesting."

Bullshit. "I don't care," she stated frankly. "I still would like to know."

Ben frowned at how easily his plan had already backfired on him. He thought that Rey would've at least taken the opportunity to ask something much more interesting: like how old he was, his favorite color, normal things. Once again, his brain ceased to function properly when he was around her.

He opened his mouth to answer, but their conversation was cut short when the sound of students herding down the hall interrupted them, abruptly followed by the ringing of the final passing period's bell. Ben gave her a reassuring look that they would surely be able to pick-up where they left off before taking to his spot at the front of the class.

Rey grit her teeth, muttering a few choice obscenities under her breath at the other students for interrupting the highly anticipated answer that she'd been waiting to hear. Her hips swiveled to sit properly behind the desk so that she was facing Ben directly, proceeding to discard her music workbook inside the basket underneath her chair.

Ben gave a brief lecture on what they would be expected to do in the greenhouse, and why it was relevant to their discussion about dirt the day before. Each student would be having their own gardening tray and dividing it equally with loam and potting soil on opposite sides. He would be providing them each with a packet of sugar snap peas and broad bean seeds to plant within each plot.

The objective of the experiment: seeing which type of soil was the preferred method of choice for planting crops, whether it being in the field or in pots similar to theirs.

Rey was probably the only student in the class that exerted the least amount of enthusiasm over having to get her hands grimy and covered in dirt. She definitely wasn't a girly-girl by any means, but the thought of constantly having to scrape dirt from under her nails wasn't her ideal way of having fun.

She complied begrudgingly, forcing herself to remember that her grade point average was depending on overcoming the pet peeve. Having always lived in large cities it was never expected of her to get down and dirty with yard work. Aunt Maz always moved them into the second or third floor of apartment buildings A, B, and C for their personal convenience.

Aside from the aforementioned, Rey was curious to see what a greenhouse looked like. She imagined the unsophisticated logic of it being a small house that was green. She snorted at her own humiliation upon discovering that it was nothing more than a small building made entirely out of windows with a controlled interior temperature for year-round plant growth.

Rey was glad that she was the only one who knew herself to be a jackass at the moment; more so that she never worked up the courage to raise her hand and ask Mr. Solo what a greenhouse was. But it definitely would've been the more considerate act to save the ounce of dignity that had been lost along with a few brain cells.

Regarding Ben's prior instructions, Rey followed in suit with the other students to complete her project. She scooped the dirt with her own designated hand shovel from the soil-filled troughs and proceeded to evenly divide the tray with loam and potting soil whilst scrunching her nose up in the process.

She stabbed a finger three times into each plot to make holes for where the seeds would go, grinning like a kid that received her first academic trophy when she successfully completed an entire row of snap peas.

Smiling proudly at her work, Rey attempted to open the remaining packet of broad bean seeds, managing to give herself the biggest and most painful motherfucking paper cut of her life in the process. She debated what reaction to enact upon first: cry, spew an endless stream of profanities, or apologize repeatedly to the kid next to her, who had gone white as a sheet at the first sight of blood protruding from the wound on the top crease of her finger.

"I think you should put a band-aid on that," the kid choked out without losing the breakfast he might've had that day.

Rey decided to swallow her pride out of desperation and chalk up another loss of dignity to seek Ben out for a first-aid kit. Ben ceased to question Rey what happened when his eyes met her pursed lips and arduous gaze. He settled on shaking his head and gestured for her to follow him back to the classroom, grabbing a red shop rag for her to control the blood flow prior to their exit.

"I wasn't gonna ask at first," Ben stated amusingly as he took a seat on the chair behind his desk, reaching to open the bottom side drawer to acquire the first-aid kit. "But how in the hell did you cut yourself?"

"I was born with two left feet and have occasional accident-prone tendencies." Rey grumbled.

Ben chuckled, gesturing a large palm outward for Rey to give him her hand. Her expression softened when she felt the warmth of his skin around hers, becoming engrossed with how small her hand looked when compared to his. His fingers were slightly rough and calloused from years of hands-on labor yet his touch still remained surprisingly gentle.

"The former," Ben stated suddenly.

Rey blinked from her momentary trance, scoffing. "What?"

"You wanted to know which reader I was," Ben replied with a low husky voice as he carefully dabbed the antibiotic on her wound. "I'm one of those that can relate to it – kind of – in a way."

She conceded his answer with a satisfied grin. "Okay, your turn."

Ben cocked his head slightly as he wrapped the band-aid around the affected area of her finger, giving her a brief upward glance. "What instrument do you play?"

"And what makes you think that I play an instrument?" Rey teased.

"I saw your music workbook," Ben replied as a matter of fact.

He really doesn't miss a thing, Rey thought. "Guitar," she replied softly after a long pause.

Ben smiled contentedly, focusing his attention away from her hand to her face. "For how long?"

She gave him a long look, smiling at the beauty marks hidden behind his glasses that dabbed his face in certain areas. Being this close to him had been the only cause that allowed her to see them. She could imagine herself touching them with her fingers and kissing each and every one of them.

"Is that your second question?"

His eyes slowly blinked as his head bobbed a nod. It surprised her that he had risked the opportunity to ask something more intriguing instead of settling with something simple.

"7 years," she replied in a single breath.

Their eyes remained locked for a moment – or two, perhaps. It was Ben that realized he had still been holding her hand. He released it after a minute passed from noticing, and cleared his throat anxiously, chiding himself for getting so easily wrapped up in the moment.

"You still have a question left," Ben stated as he proceeded to put the first-aid kit away.

Rey took a moment to think over what she wanted to ask him, unaware of the fact that her face was still tainted red with blush from the moments prior. She smiled knowingly when realization dawned on her what she wanted to ask him, something that he was sure to appreciate and enlighten the tense moment that was before.

"When can I borrow your book to read?"

By the end of the day Ben remained unconvinced that he hadn't berated himself enough over what happened with Rey. He kept reassuring himself with the simple logic that it was nothing more than an innocent hand touch and a simple exchange in questions, even if it was more than obvious to any on-looker that Rey had been capable of addressing the bandage herself.

The skin on his hand still felt warm and oddly tingly long after he had settled for the evening inside his apartment from where her hand touched his. No woman ever rendered this kind of effect on him. It made him realize that this hole he was digging for himself was becoming consequentially deeper and that he was on the verge of quickly obtaining a First Class ticket straight to Hell.

He should've just asked Rey how old she was for clarity on his behalf though it certainly wouldn't help the overall matter of the situation. He was still her teacher and school officials would undoubtedly have his hide for initiating any relationship with Rey so long as she was still in his class – or in the same school for that matter.

But no one who has come into Ben's life and withheld any significance to him did so without experiencing a negative reaction to his actions. A prime example was the only 'other' in his life waiting for his weekly visit at the ranch where Ben's childhood had been wrecked into shambles.

Despite knowing that his mind was a cluster fuck of thoughts over how he should enact upon this ongoing conflict with Rey, it was a welcoming distraction compared to the real reason why he had been waiting anxiously by his phone the entire evening while preparing for the week's remaining lectures.

Ben nearly came out of his own skin when his phone buzzed across the coffee table, breaking him from the haphazard attempt of concentrating on the papers and books scattered across the table top. He breathed a sigh in relief when the word **MOM** appeared on the iPhone's screen, momentarily yielding his ability to see the image of a stunning black Morgan with an angry scar dividing its face.

He immediately swiped the green answer button and tapped the 'speaker phone' icon, allowing the sound of Leia Organa-Solo's voice to resonate throughout his living room.

"Hey, mom." Ben greeted half-heartedly, nervously rolling his ball-point pen between his thumbs and forefingers.

"Hi dear, so sorry it took so long for me to call you back. I got your text message this morning, but it was a mad house in the stables today."

Ben frowned at nothing in particular from where he was sitting, shifting his eyes incessantly over the room. "It wasn't because of anything that he did, was it?"

He heard Leia exert a snort at her end of the line. "No, Kylo was in one of his better moods today. He is getting mopey though, barely raised his head up no more than he had to when he wasn't eating."

Ben liberated his worry with another heavy sigh.

Kylo, or, if Ben was speaking in show terms, the given name to the striking black stallion with flowing waves of obsidian locks was Kylo Ren. Ben came up with the first part of his horse's name by combining the letters within his family's names of Solo and Skywalker to create something unique.

Kylo came to the Solo-Skywalker Ranch as a rescue horse, bearing more than his own fair share of scars from a precarious past. He was dangerously underweight for a Morgan of his size with a ghastly incision that split his face from the point of his main down his jaw to the center of his neck.

Unfortunately, taking in a horse that suffered from a perilous life came with a price of its own: one that Ben wasn't ready to let loose from his thoughts just yet. Needless to say Kylo healed beautifully with months' worth of tender loving care with only a scar left severing his frontal features as a reminder from his past – and an unpredictable temper to go along with it.

Kylo quickly became Ben's horse as they came to share an unbreakable bond. His behavior was more erratic when Ben wasn't around and more violent when anyone other than his master would attempt to saddle him. So when Ben made the decision to move out, he made it a weekly priority to visit Kylo on the weekends as reassurance that he hadn't been abandoned.

"I figured," Ben replied. "I'm still planning on stopping over this weekend."

"That's a relief to hear. We could sure use your hands around the place for a few days. Wedge is on vacation and Kaydel called in sick for a few days. It's been just me, Hera and Biggs running the place."

Ben frowned at his phone. Her words weren't meant to be imploring, but it still served as a cruel reminder as to why his father was no longer able to work around the ranch. He nodded, though it was pointless since his mother couldn't see it.

"That's fine. I have nothing going on anyways."

"You really should get out more often, Ben. I can see why Kylo took to you more than anyone. You were made for each other: both good at sulking and antisocial."

Ben snorted. "I guess."

"You know I try not to pry into your life," Leia urged gently. "But get out and meet someone. I'm not getting any younger to wait for grandkids, you know."

"Mom," Ben groaned.

"Unless you have met somebody and haven't told me yet." Leia accused.

"Don't."

"You have, haven't you?" Leia nearly exclaimed out. "I know that tone in your voice. What's her name?"

Defeated, Ben tossed the pen onto the table. He carelessly removed his glasses with one hand, holding them near the rims between his thumb and forefinger whilst running his other hand over his face. "It's – complicated, mom."

There was a pause at Leia's end of the line. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Ben snapped back defensively, his voice rising up an octave to exert his frustration. "It's just – she's –," he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "she's a student."

Another drawn out pause rendered on Leia's end. Ben could already imagine the wheels turning in her head as she would normally scrutinize him with a heavy glare and crossing her arms.

"She's not fifteen or anything is she?"

Ben snorted wryly. "Nice of you to think of me in that fucked up sort of way, but, no, she's a senior."

"Don't get your briefs in a twist, Ben. I'm not accusing you of anything," Leia snarked with a pause between her words. "So, she's probably what – 17 or 18?"

"I'm assuming so, yes."

Leia's voice began to soften. "I think you're forgetting that I was also 17 when I met your father."

"He also wasn't your teacher."

"It doesn't take away the fact that I was also under that fine line of being legal in age," Leia stated reassuringly. "Sometimes, you can't help who you become attracted to, Ben. I'm not saying that it's a wise idea to engage in romantic relations with her while she's in school or under that age, but I trust that you have better judgment than that."

Ben nodded. He was up and pacing across the small space separating the couch and coffee table at this point, hands lightly placed on the loose knitted fabric of his sleep pants around his waist. "I just want to get to know her right now. She's incredible. I don't want to risk doing anything that would hurt her chances in excelling in school."

"What's her name?"

Ben paused in his stride and stared at the phone, his expression growing soft as he spoke her name. "Rey."

Leia's smile reverberated through her words. "She sounds lovely. Bring her over sometime. I'm sure she would love the horses."

Ben nodded, uselessly at the phone. "We'll see."

"No pressure," Leia reassured. "But I also can't wait to meet her. I'll see you this weekend, my dear."

They exchanged their designated ways of saying 'I love you' before hanging up. Ben was left with a whole new whirlwind of emotions to figure out now that, surprisingly, his mother reminded him of the significant age gap between her and his father. However there was much more being held at stake for him and Rey than there was for his parents.

One thing was for certain though, that he could undoubtedly agree with what his mother had said: sometimes you really couldn't resist who you fell for in life. Now, it was simply a matter of taking baby steps to get there.


	4. Call Me Ben

When Ben handed the book to Rey, one of the first things she noticed about Black Beauty was how worn it looked in outer condition. The creases were significant along the front cover's spine, like it was re-read periodically, rather than read once and stored away on a shelf somewhere to collect dust. The corners curled as if it had been dropped one too many times by accident, and the pages were easy to turn rather than having to pry them apart like most newish novels required.

Aside from the outer wear and tear, what Rey found the most amusing was that the book was a Young Readers' addition. The print was a little larger than what was typically found in adult literature. The chapters were significantly condensed along with black and white graphite-drawn photographs strategically placed throughout its chapters.

Rey wondered if it was a keepsake from Mr. Solo's childhood given to him by a family member or if it was something that he picked up later on in his life. Either way, seeing a man of his size reading a children's book was enough to give her a clearer indication to what kind of person Mr. Solo was.

His reaction to her questioning how the novel pertained to him as a reader made her realize now, that he was definitely a more sensitive sort with a soul that appeared to be as equally soft as his hair and lips. The thought made her smile and brought about a warm feeling inside her chest that made her want to know more about the man that she became so irrevocably drawn to.

She meant to begin reading it later that night after finishing her homework for Language Arts, History and Trigonometry. By the time she finished number crunching ten formulas that took up half a page (each) in length and read through a surmount of text to answer questions for the other two classes Rey was more than ready to throw in the towel and pass the fuck out.

Luckily, the hump day school hours were slightly shorter thanks to block scheduling. Classes began at 9:00 A.M. rather than the usual 8:00. That meant classes were cut short by 10 minutes and passing periods were lesser by a minute.

Not that Rey was bummed for having the omitted minutes in every class: just Agricultural Science. Ironically, not more than 36 hours earlier Agriculture was the same class that she initially looked forward to attending the least.

Today, Rey was excited for her daily talk with Mr. Solo, hoping to strike up some sort of conversation about the book that she borrowed from him to begin the day on common ground rather than the usual awkwardness.

But Rey needed to actually read the book in order to make that goal happen.

Foregoing the need to catch some extra sleep, like any other student was probably doing with the extra given hour, Rey went about her usual morning routine to make it to the school just before 8:00. Unlike days with the normal scheduled hours she caught sight of a hand full of students that were occupying the empty hallways. Some were making use of their time (like she planned to do) by catching up on homework that was put off from the night before.

Also, there was a couple that she begrudgingly witnessed trying to devour each other's face, thinking that no one could see them dry humping against the lockers in the dimly lit corridors. Rey pretended not to have seen, even though her eyes were already suffering the long-term consequences.

Luckily, her locker was in one of the momentary vacant hallways, enabling her to have the entire vicinity to herself for an hour. It was perfect to catch up on the much needed reading that she planned on using the allotted free time for.

Then, maybe – maybe if she was lucky, Rey would have time left after reading to pay a visit to Mr. Solo's class before school started. For book talk, of course.

She deposited the books and other belongings from her backpack to their designated place inside her locker, keeping Black Beauty safely tucked into the crevice between her arm and side before shutting the door.

Making an about face, Rey pressed her back against the sealed door to slide down to the tile flooring. She flinched as the backs of her legs that were left uncovered by the denim shorts met the cold surface beneath her, causing Rey to immediately draw her knees up and plant the bottoms of her red Converse to the floor.

She propped the book against her thighs and opened it to the first few pages of text, keeping a few fingers to hold it open in place as Rey suddenly became immersed within the scene that chapter one began to paint.

The first paragraph took her by surprise when the narration began telling the story through the eyes of a horse, or, specifically, a young colt named Black Beauty.

Based on the text that she was given Rey easily imagined a world full of green pastures, valleys, and open skies with lakes and streams where no means of vehicle transportation existed – at least not by road or air.

The story took place in history when people traveled long-distance by steam engines, or horse drawn carriages. Unfortunately, it was a world where the magnificent animals were seen mostly as being a necessary means for traveling and as workers around the farms rather than being considered creatures that possessed a soul and feelings.

One horse, a beautiful chestnut mare named Ginger, possessed a back story that immediately captured Rey's attention and gave her heartstrings a vicious tug.

Time after time, Ginger suffered continuously at the hands and words of her owner's son; whether it was by a whip, stick or words that rendered to stones being hurled. Her spirit became broken as did her trust and faith in humanity and, surprisingly, she even became aggressive with other horses.

Luckily, that was before Ginger came to a more hospitable life on a small farm, followed by Beauty's arrival shortly after. With insurmountable patience and kindness, Ginger was able to learn what it was like to love and be loved by more caring owners, and have a second chance at happiness.

Rey managed to make it to page 36 in her reading before the high-pitched sound of sneakers scuffing over the tile floor diverted her attention from the book to the intersecting hallway of lockers to her right.

She sighed, followed by a censured groan when she saw Poe coming towards her. Was it really too much to ask to read for an hour in peace?

His black, sleek Under Armour athletic shorts paired with the maroon cut-off sleeve t-shirt that read **MISHAWAKA** **HIGH** **SCHOOL** in white lettering gave Rey the assumption that Poe must've been in early for athletic training.

Not that she cared to know, really, though her initial perception of him had gradually subsided to regarding him as the typical, self-entitled jock that could get whatever he wanted. Poe was nice, but, unfortunately, his ego tended to outshine the ability for him to be pleasant company at times.

"What are you doing here so early?" Poe asked. His mouth was half full with granola from the granola bar that he was holding in his hand with an Adidas duffel bag strewn casually over the opposite shoulder.

Duh, Rey wanted to say. Her book was in plain sight, but she refrained from the use of sarcasm. She obliged him by holding the now half-closed book up, keeping her forefinger in between the pages to mark her spot. The motion briefly left the cover easily viewable for Poe to see for himself before Rey brought it back to its former spot.

"Reading," she replied shortly, stating the obvious out loud for him.

"Ah, you're one of those bookworms." Poe teased whilst leaning his shoulder against Finn's locker. Urging the strap of the duffel bag off his shoulder with a shrug, the garment proceeded to carelessly drop onto the tile next to his shoes with a soft thump. "Whatcha reading?"

"Black Beauty."

Poe nodded, swallowing his food before continuing to speak. "Interesting choice," he said whilst taking in the last bite of granola, rubbing his hands together to rid the lingering crumbs. "For fun or for class?"

"For class." The words were out of Rey's mouth prior to remembering that Poe and Finn had the same literary class as she, but in a different schedule. She could've kept it simple and corrected the tiny white lie, but reconsidered with the possibility of sounding too suspicious. She darted her eyes briefly up at Poe, clearing her throat before adding more fuel to the lie – kind of. "It's for Agriculture, actually."

Poe arched a brow and snorted. "Is Solo going soft on you guys or something? I've never heard of him being the type to hand out children's literature in class."

"Classic literature," Rey corrected while giving his Nikeshoes a sidewise glance. "And it's for extra credit if you must know."

"Interesting." Poe quipped, turning his back against the locker to slide down its remaining length. He kicked his feet straight out in front of him when he came to an abrupt halt on the floor next to her, crossing his shoes one foot over the other at the ankle. "Solo never gives extra credit."

Rey rolled her eyes, becoming annoyed with the sudden interrogation. "How would you know? You've never had his class."

Poe shrugged, reaching for his phone from a small outer pocket on his bag. "Just going by what I've heard about him," he said while opening the Facebook app. "There are a couple Ag guys on the football team that had him last year. I've just always known him to be a dick."

And you aren't? The insult was tempting, but Rey resisted and reverted to change the subject.

"So, what's your reason for being here so early?" She asked, turning her attention away from the pages of text to Poe.

"Coach likes us to do conditionings in the morning," he replied, not looking up from his phone. "You should come by practice sometime after school."

The thought made Rey's upper lip curl. "Do I look like the kind of girl that likes football?"

"Just as much as you look like an Ag girl," Poe retorted with a smirk. "But you can't blame me for wanting to try, at least."

Rey narrowed her eyes and huffed. Turning her interest to the row of lockers across from them, her head nodded back against the locker, making a noticeable 'thud' when it came in contact with the metal object. Her eyes became fixed on a substantial-sized dent near the bottom of the locker directly across from her. It was a lot more interesting to ponder how the dent got there rather than choosing to listen to Poe mock her interests.

"By the way, do you have Facebook?" Poe asked, finally looking away from his phone to Rey. "Finn and I tried searching for you during Study Hall yesterday, but couldn't find you."

Rey frowned.

"Probably because it still shows up as me being from Florida," she explained, begrudgingly rolling her head along the locker to face Poe with a sigh. "I haven't changed my location to Indiana. Try 'Rey Kanata' again."

Poe proceeded to do just what Rey asked of him as she provided the spelling of her last name. Watching his thumbs dance lightly over the digital keyboard on the screen to ensure that there weren't any errors, she was surprised to see that there were well over a couple dozen 'Rey Kanatas' around the world.

She always thought her name was the one and only.

Rey watched intently as Poe scrolled through the numerous profiles on display down the screen, and pointed with the top of her pinky at the photo that corresponded with her profile when he finally came upon it.

Her eyes grew to the shape of saucers when she saw that the photo of her wearing a pair of neon-colored board shorts with a matching bikini top came up as Poe clicked on her profile to send a friend request. Having her hair pulled up into a messy bun with one hand propped upon her hip, Rey's ridiculously tanned face was half-shielded by the larger than life framed sunglasses and a toothy grin that exerted her excitement being at Clearwater Beach.

"Wow!" Poe blinked his eyes wide open, holding his phone up to get a better look at her picture. "You may be the only girl I know that has fucking better abs than I do. Looks hot if I may say," he remarked with an expression on his face that mirrored his unpleasantly suggestive remark.

Shit! Rey grimaced at the knot twisting in her stomach, noting the crucial need to change the picture when she got home. Her aunt had told her the night before that they were expected to have their internet installed today. Rey intended on making damn good use out of it.

"What time is it?" Rey asked, shifting uncomfortably in her spot.

She never had use for keeping her phone on her during the day, so she always kept it safely tucked into a pocket of her backpack after making the walk to school.

Poe glanced from her picture to the time on the top corner of his phone. "8:30."

Now's your chance, Rey!

"Shit, I forgot I have a grouping in Ensemble today." Rey stated abruptly, lying through her teeth. She squabbled to push herself up to a squatting position from the ground and stand to her full height. "Tell Finn to add me as well if you see him, and Rose and Mitaka. I don't have the app on my phone so I'll accept your requests tonight when I get home."

Poe looked amused. "You're probably the only person I know that doesn't have Facebook on your phone."

"My aunt is a little paranoid when it comes to going over our shared data usage. I did it once before and it wasn't pretty. So, unless there's Wi-Fi, I don't use my phone."

Poe nodded, "Will do." He assured whilst falling in suit, grabbing the strap of his duffel bag as he stood. "See you at lunch, Rey."

Rey feebly gestured her hand in the air, giving Poe a halfhearted wave along with the spoken words of a matching 'see ya'. Darting off in the opposite direction to make her way towards the Ag hall, Rey hoped that a certain teacher would be there this early to provide her with some more than desired company – aside from what was previously offered by an arrogant jock.

Rey was surprised to see Mr. Solo not wearing his usual plaid that day. Having seen him the last two days sporting the signature attire Rey was anticipating what color he could be wearing next. If she wasn't attracted to Mr. Solo before, his new appearance was going to send her ovaries into a full-blown eruption.

It was enough to make her pause with one foot set inside his classroom and mull over every part of his 6 foot 3 inch form – what she was able to see, at least. Mr. Solo was sitting on the front edge of his desk with a leg casually dangling over the edge and the other stretched out in front of him, focusing with his head down towards one of several papers that he was holding in his hands.

His hair looked like he'd had it trimmed: maybe by an inch or so throughout the layers that use to easily frame the defined features of his face and hide his larger than average ears. It was a rather insignificant detail about him that easily brought a smile to her face now, that she had the chance to see them.

His azure blue button-up checkered shirt with the sleeves rolled-up just below his elbows was partially hidden underneath a midnight blue vest with a coordinating tie and dress pants. He looked like he was going to a formal-wear gathering rather than teaching a subject that mainly revolved around Earth studies and livestock.

How in the hell was she supposed to focus during class with him looking like – this?

Breathe, Kanata. Just breathe.

Following her own advice, Rey took a couple deep breaths before she forced herself to put one foot in front of the other.

"Am I in the right classroom?" Rey asked aloud, formally announcing her presence and making his head glance away from the documents in his hand. "You sure don't look like Mr. Solo."

"Really, now?" Ben inquired with a raised brow, feeling equally amused and curious about her comment. "And why's that?"

"Did you miss laundry day?" She teased, gesturing with a judgmental hand towards his urbane wardrobe. "I'll be extremely disappointed if you're going to tell me that you ran out of plaid."

Ben shrugged. "Kinda," he replied with a tone set to compliment his straight face. "My mom forgot to wash them last night."

Rey scoffed, firmly planting her feet in place and crossing her arms as she came to stand at the edge of his desk. "Seriously?"

"No," Ben chuckled, allowing a smirk to break the serious façade. Turning his back to Rey, he heedlessly tossed the papers onto his desk before returning to meet her puzzled turned affronted look and casually rested his palms on his desk. "I should be offended that you thought so lowly of me. But I'm actually perfectly capable of doing my own dirty work."

I don't doubt that you can, Rey confessed silently to herself. Her mind began to entertain the million and one possible dirty things that he could do to her at the moment.

Realizing that she'd accidentally drifted into a momentary state of erotic fantasizing about the man in front of her, Rey proceeded to issue him a goading glare and stick her tongue out. As childish as it looked she hoped that it would be enough to cover up her cheeks becoming flushed. "Funny."

Ben chuckled lightheartedly. "Honestly, I'm surprised to see you here this early. You're four class periods too soon, you know."

"I know." Rey replied sheepishly, drawing her bottom lip askew between her teeth. "I actually had something to talk to you about."

"Oh? What about?"

"It's nothing important, really," Rey hastily countered. "I mean, if you're busy we could talk about it later."

Her words immediately captivated Ben's undivided attention. Not that it was hard for him to become mesmerized by her, anyways. Ben would listen to Rey talk about how paper bags were made all day if it meant that he could hear that spellbinding accent of hers, and watch how the irises in her eyes would beam when she became too excited.

"A distraction is actually more than welcome right now," he replied softly. "Even if it's not important. What's up?"

Rey smiled at the encouragement, shifting her weight to the right as her hip dug into the edge of his desk. Not only did it draw her closer towards him, but she could now smell the faint scent of his Polo cologne. It was enough to make Rey want to bury her face into his neck and spend eternity memorizing his aroma – if he would let her.

"I started reading Black Beauty this morning. I only got through chapter five though." Rey stated whilst gesturing the book in questioning out with her hand, her tone growing bitter. "Poe – one of my friends – unfortunately, wouldn't stop pestering me."

Ben's eye twitched at the mentioning of Poe's name. "Dameron?"

Rey frowned, "You know him?"

Of course he probably knows Poe, she chided to herself. Thinking about the notion only made her feel like a dumbass for asking a question with an obvious answer when Mr. Solo taught in the same school that Poe played football for.

Ben nodded with a deflated look, flexing his jaw. "His father is head of the school board. And I've seen him play football a few times. No offense, but there's no way he could've made the team without his father's help."

Rey laughed at that, stealing a glance at the toes of her shoes. "I believe you, truly. And don't worry, it didn't hurt my feelings any."

"That's good, then." Ben stated, clearing his throat. He quickly changed the subject to a lighter discussion. "Anyways, so you did get to read it? What do you think of it so far?"

"Yeah! Well, like I said I didn't get very far into it, but I love Ginger so far."

"Ginger." Ben repeated softly, cocking his head with a knowing look. He knew that the character lived (and would lead) a tragic life later in the story, but he wasn't about to tell Rey. It would only ruin her interest in the story. "Why her?"

"She's courageous," Rey replied simply with a complementary smile. "There's a lot of depth to Ginger that makes her different from Beauty's story. Beauty was trained as a colt to know discipline and to always show kindness towards others. Ginger didn't have that life: she was constantly abused. She never knew what love was or how to act properly, and she guarded herself by lashing out at those around her. But Beauty wasn't afraid of her and he befriended her when nobody else would."

"That is true," Ben added. "Beauty does hold a significant impact on Ginger, and you'll find that his upbringing and knowing those important life skills is what makes him a survivor. Through every good and bad situation Beauty never loses sight of who he really is. That's what I find most admirable about him."

Tipping her head askance, Rey took a moment to reflect over the significance of his words. Was Beauty the one that Mr. Solo related the most to in the story?

"Do these questions count towards our daily two?" Rey asked, feeling hopeful that it wouldn't be the case.

Ben chuckled lightly, giving her a reassuring smile. "No, book discussion doesn't count."

"Good." Rey affirmed, allowing the corners of her lips to curl into a smile. "What made you become an Agriculture teacher when you clearly have a love for horses?"

"What makes you think that I love horses?" Ben countered with a grimace.

"Because of the look that you get in your eyes whenever the opportunity presents itself to discuss the topic." Rey stated gently, keeping her eyes fixed on his. "You have a passion for them, I can tell."

Ben swallowed heavily, breaking Rey's eye contact to look down at his interlaced fingers that inadvertently began to fidget in his lap. He should've known that BlackBeauty would open up doors that had been long closed for discussion. But Ben was surprised to see that he was willing to open up a little more about the sensitive topic once he managed to gather his thoughts and took a breath.

"Teaching wasn't my first career choice, you're right." He replied, treading carefully over his words and returning to meet her gaze. "My parents raised Morgans on their ranch not too far from here, so I grew up being around horses and showed them occasionally. They're hard not to love once you meet one."

Rey smiled at the thought, having never had the chance to see a horse in person – not up close and personal at least. It was a very rare occurrence to see such a magnificent animal in the city, other than the few that she caught glimpses of giving chauffer rides around one city block to another while she was riding with Maz.

Rey told Ben just as much. In return, Ben pined over every possible way that he could ask Rey to come with him to the ranch some weekend without sounding like a total creep. His brooding was momentarily relieved as the subject appeared to have sparked the next question that Rey wanted to ask him.

"Do you have a favorite? Horse, I mean."

Ben nodded slowly, "There's one, yes."

"What's its name?" Rey asked anxiously, smiling through her eyes.

"Good question." Ben confirmed, smiling coyly. "But one for another time, your two questions are up."

Rey huffed and rolled her eyes, shifting her weight to a bent knee. "Do we have to take it that literally?"

"I'm a man of my word, Miss Kanata. I believe you owe me two now."

"Fine," Rey surrendered with a bitter pout.

Ben chuckled, pushing the former possible question aside to ponder something else. The need to ask Rey her age was a continuous thorn in his side, one that was constantly at the tip of his tongue, begging to be let out. But there was so much more that he was longing to know, things that were more important than a number that made little to no difference of how he perceived her.

He settled on an obvious question that would accompany an even more obvious answer, but it was genuine and one that Ben wanted to hear Rey explain herself.

"Where are you from?"

"Originally?" Rey snorted, adding her own dry humor to the tale. "London. After that, there was Manhattan, Charlotte and Orlando," she proceeded to state in one breath, "and now Mishawaka."

Ben frowned, regarding Rey's response. Did that mean that she would be leaving here, too? He couldn't fathom the possibility of losing her before he had the chance make anything out of what was happening between them; even if those chances were slim to none.

As if Rey was could sense Ben's concern, she reassured him that her aunt planned on keeping them parked in Indiana for the foreseeable future. She thought that by mentioning Maz would make him question where her parents were, enough to make her take a breath and prepare to explain the one thing she dreaded to enlighten him on.

Asking about Rey's parents was the initial question that surpassed Ben's thoughts. It was the impulsive nature for anyone to ask when someone referenced living with another family member.

But he didn't. He figured if Rey wanted him to know, that she would tell him when she felt more comfortable broaching the topic on her own in a more leisure pace.

Instead, he asked her how she liked Indiana so far. In return, she obliged him with an answer that Ben could've sworn it pertained to him as she stared pensively.

"So far, it's not how I thought it would be."

"Should I take that as a good or bad thing?"

Rey smiled. "Good. Definitely."

It took nearly half a minute past the morning bell ringing for Rey to realize that she still needed to go back to her locker for her World History book and supplies. Ben begrudgingly followed Rey to the classroom door, hands shoved into the pockets of his dress slacks like he was a kid escorting his girl home from a date.

"Rey."

Rey turned just before she crossed into the hallway, hands clasping her book in front of her whilst eyeing him expectantly.

Ben swallowed heavily and took a breath, shifting nervously on his heels. "During non-class hours, you can call me Ben. But only if you want to, of course."

Rey tossed his name around in her thoughts, shifting her eyes over his face with a knowing smile.

"Ben," she repeated for the first time aloud. Chewing the inside of her cheek, Rey concluded that it was definitely a name that she could get use to saying every day. It already felt like she had been calling him that for years rather than sheer seconds. "Alright, Ben, I'll see you later."

Ben felt like his insides had turned to mush. Hearing Rey say his name made him wish that he could keep her voice on a constant loop inside his head. There was something so innate the way it flowed like air from her lips, making it appear that she was made for him and him for her.

Needless to say, Ben hated watching her leave – even if he did get to see her again in four class periods. Those hours would surely feel like waiting for centuries.


	5. Get To Know You, Get To Know Me

"Alright child, spill the beans," Maz insisted with an arched brow that reached far beyond the thick rims of her glasses.

Rey paused mid-bite of her General Tsao's chicken, which Maz so kindly brought home after her 12-hour shift at the hospital. The piece of food had long turned into mush inside her mouth, not realizing that she had drifted away into some sort of mystical daydreaming at some point between stabbing her fork into the chunk of meat on her plate to taking the first bite.

Minding her manners, Rey swallowed her food and gave her aunt a nonchalant shrug. "About school? It wasn't bad. Other than the fact that I was nearly late to one of my classes because a trombone player thought it would be funny to conk a clarinet player in the back of her head with his tuning slide. The director apparently found it appropriate to punish the whole class for those few that found it funny."

"Is that why you've gone off into some form of la-la land?" Maz inquired with amusement in her tone. "Because some brass player boned a woodwind?"

"Maz!"

"I'm not talking with my head in the gutter like you kids do nowadays," Maz corrected defensively, shoveling a mixture of fried rice and beef onto her own fork. "It was simply another name that we use to say whenever a trombone player would hit someone on accident. We used to call them 'boners.'"

"You can't just go around saying 'boners' and think that people are going to immediately assume that you're talking about instrument terms here," Rey countered, dramatically gesturing with her hands over the table to prove the significance of her point.

Maz snorted, making a bemused pfft sound with her tightly-pressed lips and knitting her brows. "We hippies practically invented the term back in my day. Anyhow, that's not what I meant when I asked you to spill the beans."

Rey scoffed, taking another bite of chicken that was big enough to fill half her mouth, purposely minimizing her amount of word usage. With having an aunt that was highly perceptive of a person's body language, it was a notion that Rey discovered to come in handy at times from talking less – like now for example.

There were numerous unfortunate instances in the past where Maz's unfiltered mouth rendered Rey's face to a sunburned shade that matched her aunt's current scrubs when it came to talking about boys, or, in this case, a particular man named Ben Solo.

"You may have to be a bit more specific then," Rey stated from the corner of her mouth, choosing to play dumb. "Cause I really have no idea what you're talking about."

Maz eyed her knowingly, swallowing the small bite of food she'd taken seconds before. The thick bifocals of her lenses made the elder woman's narrowed eyes look like the darkest oceanic trench rather than the average eyelid slits.

"Oh, Rey. I was your age once, too, you know. I see your eyes and I know when there's a boy lingering at the back of a girl's thoughts."

Rey frowned, slowly chewing her food. "There isn't anyone," she lied. "Well, there are a couple guys that are fairly attractive at school, but they're just friends."

Maz hummed in acknowledgement, raising her brows suggestively. "So, you're saying there's no reason you've taken no more than five bites of your food and drifted into conscious daydreaming since we sat down?"

"I'm just tired is all," Rey urged through a sigh, dropping her fork exasperatedly onto her plate. "I'm still trying to get use to these six o'clock wake-up schedules."

"Didn't you say that you started classes later, today?"

"I did," Rey replied frankly. "I went in early though."

"The Rey that I know and raised would never pass up the opportunity to sleep in an extra hour," Maz countered eloquently. "There have been times where I highly considered giving you the cold water bucket challenge in bed just to get you out of bed at ten in the morning."

Rey worked her jaw, turning it slightly askew at the food on her plate as she considered her next choice of words, carefully.

"I just really like this school," she stated thoughtfully, looking at her aunt with timid eyes. "The people are nice. And the teachers aren't so bad either."

The statement wasn't a total lie, necessarily. Rey really did like all of her teachers; there was just one that she liked a little – more.

"You're a terrible liar, Rey," Maz reassured whilst considering her niece with a softer expression. "You inherited that from your father."

Her shoulders prominently rose and fell as Rey took a deep breath, feeling an unsolicited knot swelling at the middle of her throat. It always came about whenever one (or both) of her parents were mentioned, though it seemed to have the opposite effect on her aunt than it did with her. Maz liked to bring up her baby brother in discussions at times; especially, now that Rey was leading into her young adult years that held similarities with her father's.

"Well, if it's any consolation, I happen to like it here, too." Maz said, returning her attention to gathering more food on her fork. "I think we'll stay."

Rey smiled in accord, biting her lip whilst falling in suit with her aunt to pay awareness to her growling stomach. The prior topic about boys quickly sparked a reminder in Rey's thoughts from earlier that day. "Did we get the internet hooked up today?"

Maz bobbed her head radically for a nod, swallowing her food down thickly before she spoke. "Yes, as a matter of fact. But I should expect that you'll use your net time sparingly before your homework is done," she concluded with an accusatory gleam in her eyes.

"Yes, my dear auntie dearest," Rey goaded with a grin mirroring her tone.

"I hate it when you call me that."

Rey continued to indulge her aunt with more details regarding the day at school, going as far as telling Maz that she joined a 'book club' of sorts that involved discussing literature before normal school hours to play her early absence from home safe.

Maz was reluctant at first but begrudgingly accepted the little white lie – after Rey insisted that she wasn't sick or pregnant or coming down with some ridiculous unknown disease that caused one to take a sudden liking to timeless classic literature.

When she finally cleaned the last speck of food from her plate, Rey helped her aunt clear the table that had been for the accustomed party of two and assisted with taking out the trash before retiring to her typical evening of finishing her studies in her bedroom.

Luckily she had only a dozen problems in Trig and a few questions to answer in History for the day's homework, giving Rey a little extra time to get comfortable and enjoy the night stalking through her feed on Facebook that she had been meaning to catch up on – including changing her profile picture to something a little less revealing.

Rey settled to trade in her jeans shorts and t-shirt for the preferred black hoodie that was one-size too big with pink letters of Billabong, a raggedy grey tee, and a coordinating pair of plaid sleep shorts. Not because they reminded her of a certain professor's preference in attire or anything: they were just extremely comfortable thank you very much!

Bee-Bee looked like he was growing antsy from being cooped up all day. If having his itty-bitty paws pressed against the side of his cage like an incarcerated criminal wasn't any indication that the rodent was more than ready for his exercise ball to burn off some pent-up energy from sleeping all day. Rey made certain that the bedroom door was closed before doing so. It was an absolute necessity as Maz nearly once mistook the tiny ball of fur to be a mouse after Bee-Bee made a daring escape through the hatch of his ball.

It was a horrible fate for Rey to think about what would've happened to her little friend had she not been there to stop the petrified woman from swinging the broom once or twice, even though it was more than obvious that the long-haired creature with a stumpy tail wasn't what Maz portrayed it to be.

Rey proceeded to settle onto the cream-colored coverlet on her full-size bed with her backpack and laptop, propping herself upon her stomach with one of many furry grey pillows to get comfortable and crossed her feet at the ankles before indulging within a few minutes worth of social media interaction.

Just as she anticipated the page's notifications alerted there were a few friend requests pending for approval from Finn, Rose, and Poe. Apparently any source of online social media gave Mitaka extreme anxiety issues, so Rey wasn't surprised that she didn't see a request from him.

As per the usual protocol that accompanied the acceptance of new friends on Facebook, Rey curiously descended her eyes down the page to consider the list of 'suggested friends' the site had to offer. She recognized a few of the names and faces of classmates that shared her second period, and fifth period class with her and Rose.

Rey sent requests to the small number of students she knew to be decent whilst sifting through the dozens she believed to be snobs (particularly a wretch named 'Anne') and jocks, and a few other choice words that she preferred not to say out loud about her fellow peers.

She was about ready to call the endless search a quits for the night before one name that belonged to a certain Agriculture teacher brought Rey to a complete stop, wholly focusing her attention on the individual's profile that she last expected to come up on the screen.

Oddly enough there was no picture or profile header belonging to the designated account that was set to 'private' in its settings. She considered the odds of him not using the account in some time, but what if it were active? What if he denied her? What if this was her pushing this – thing – between them too far?

More questions relevant to the consequences of her action continued to plague her thoughts as Rey chewed the short tip of her thumbnail, eyes remaining fixed on the name that was center of attention on the screen of her Dell laptop.

What the hell…

Her hand tentatively hovered over the computer's touch pad, allowing herself a moment to reconsider coaxing the cursor with a single finger towards the icon that read 'add friend' alongside the profile that belonged to Ben Solo.

"Are you sure it's Kylo?" Ben asked, struggling to maintain a decent grip on his phone that was pressed between his ear and the shower-soaked skin along his bare shoulder.

"His stall smells like he had a field day rolling in the biggest pile of shit that he could find." Leia assured, her tone projecting the scowl that was likely masking her face.

"I can't get there until Friday," Ben exhorted gruffly. "There's no way that you can hose him down in the stall until then?"

"You know what that horse is like when anybody gives him a bath that's not you," Leia replied exasperatedly. "That stall would be in shambles by the time we would get him remotely clean."

Ben heaved a sigh through the phone, making a haphazard attempt to dry his legs and feet prior to securing the towel wrapped around his waist. Taking the iPhone in hand with a tighter than needed grip, he padded with dampened bare feet over the carpet that led from the bathroom to his living room. At least he managed to get his hair towel dried before Leia called; baring news that Kylo's wayward antics once again earned him another shot at wearing the obscured dunce cap for badly behaved horses.

"I don't know what the hell you're expecting me to do about it over the phone at this hour." Ben barked, voice seething with frustration. He parked himself furiously on the couch across the coffee table which held his laptop, maneuvering his fingers with the free hand over the touch pad to awaken the screen from rest mode to reveal dozens of unread e-mails that accrued throughout the day. "If you guys can get him reasonably hygienic I'll take care of it when I get there Friday night."

"Kylo isn't exactly one of our typical thoroughbreds, Ben."

"So he's an inconvenience is what you're trying to say."

"That's not what I'm saying and you know damn well that I care about that horse as much as you do."

"Didn't stop you from wanting to sell him before, did it," Ben sneered sharply, his words coming across purposely as a statement than a question.

Leia sighed heavily, exerting defeat through the phone. "That was – under entirely different circumstances, Ben," she replied within a more composed tone. "We've all had to sacrifice getting him this far. You of all people should know that."

Ben stared blankly at the screen, swallowing down the proverbial lump that was attempting to climb the back of his throat. He knew Leia's words were true but, still, that harbored bitterness beneath layers of walls he built up internally over the years liked to reveal its ugly face every so often.

"Make sure he has a pail of grain and carrots in front of him," Ben offered serenely, breaking the moment's awkward tension. "Carrots make him less edgy for some reason. It'll keep him somewhat entertained for you to get some of the shit off until I can."

"We'll try," Leia replied in a tone less confident. "Just – come home as soon as you can. He misses you more than usual this week."

Ben nodded, as if his mother were there to see his reaction; however it must've been suitable enough since Leia ended the call without adding another word in edge-wise. Grimacing at the guilt surging in his chest, Ben tossed the fragile device in his hand uncaringly onto the table, unhindered by the phone landing dangerously with a smack face down onto the hard surface.

Ben's elbows dug deep into the muscles of his thighs, momentarily taking focus off the ache as he massaged the strain from his eyes with his palms. He supposed that's what he deserved for glowering at the screen over a prolonged period of time.

When he finally made the effort to settle the glasses on his nose that were left lying on the laptop's keyboard earlier that evening, his newly enhanced vision made Ben realize that he'd been gazing blindly at an email notification from Facebook:

 **You have received (1) pending new friend request**

Ben blinked once, then twice in a bewildered response prior to furrowing his brows. Facebook. Did he have a Facebook?

He recalled creating a page with the popular social media site in his early years of college, back when he use to show horses with his father. But he was more than certain that he had deleted the account along with hundreds of photos from the long days spent with equestrians, following the early wake of Han's accident.

It had to be a mistake or a glitch in the system.

Allowing curiosity to take over his better half, Ben preceded to follow the embedded link to the renowned website. His fingers danced fluidly over the keys, providing the assigned e-mail and password he'd given to the account. It was a miracle of its own that he remembered what they were; more so that he still existed on the accounts of long-forgotten friendships he'd made during shows.

Moving the cursor to click the tiny bell-shaped icon at the bottom of the screen, Ben's heart made a violent jolt against his diaphragm when Rey Kanata's friend request appeared at the forefront of hundreds of many other missed notifications.

Balling his hands into fists, Ben pressed the ridges of his knuckles from one hand over his pursed lips, deliberating every reason why he should ignore the request all together – and the account that should've vanished into the depths of cyber space long ago.

Taking an unsteady breath, Ben unclenched his hands to begrudgingly accept Rey's request, granting them both access to every like and shared memory that was on each other's timeline though the content on his was very limited.

His eyes nearly bulged from their sockets had it not been for the glasses when he clicked on Rey's profile, revealing the main photo on display that was her wearing a presumptuous bikini top with board shorts at the beach beneath the page's header of an acoustic guitar aesthetic.

Jesus, Solo, it's not like you've never seen a half naked woman before!

But this was Rey – his student. And he still didn't know how old she was precisely.

Feeling more like a creep after realizing that he was still sitting half naked with nothing but a towel to cover his lower midriff, Ben forced himself to look away even though the picture was anything but evocative. At least it prevented him from enacting on any emotion that could make this – thing – with Rey drift further from their segregated roles in the classroom.

Lowering his focus to a safer section, he fancied his attention on the 'About' tab of her profile. What he found only seceded to drive the dagger further into his chest upon discovering the month, day and year that officially declared Rey being 10 years younger than him.

He was 27. Rey was 17. At least, she would be until a few more weeks on the 21st of September.

"God damnit," Ben growled through gritted teeth, bringing a hand to massage the brewing ache behind his forehead.

What the hell was he expecting? That if Rey were the legal age it would make it easier to accept this growing attraction towards her?

He considered deleting the account (again) and pretending that none of this ever happened, but then remembered that the sender was always notified whenever their request had been accepted by the receiver. He definitely didn't want Rey to think he was being an ass, like he was perceived to be by other students at times. Having her as a friend in his life was okay, since Rey never gave him a clear indication that this was something more complex.

There was no lawful ban for a teacher to be friends with a student, it happened all the time. Friends talked about their favorite books and told each other their deepest desires and secrets in life – right?

What if she was online? Should he message her?

The e-mail signified that Rey sent the request roughly three hours earlier, and it was getting late for a school night. She could be in bed already. Still, Ben wasn't certain what the proper Facebook etiquette was nowadays, the least that he could do was say hello.

Ben opened the messaging tab to send Rey a private note, languishing over the variety of salutations that he wanted to say. How could such a simple notion be a chore of its own? And why was he acting like he was back in fucking 6th grade all over again?

He just wanted to send Rey a simple hello. But nothing sounded right as he instantly deleted the text as soon as they were typed, claiming that they sounded 'too old' or 'too dignified' or being all around 'not good enough' when they appeared to be a combination of both.

The final topper on the cake was when Ben accidentally sent the one message that concluded to be the worst faux pa he could've possibly sent to another human being.

 **– Ben Solo –**

I barely recognized you, Miss Kanata.

"Oh my god, you're a dumbass, Solo." Castigating himself out loud appeared to be fruitless as he stared helplessly, wide-eyed at the message before him.

Ben nervously ran his fingers through his hair, remaining unfathomed by the sharp pain when his fingers tugged brutally at the ends of the knotted tresses that were still slightly damp.

Slamming the laptop shut with vanquish, Ben surrendered every ounce of hope to the breeze that Rey couldn't possibly want to talk to him again after reading that shitty excuse of a message.

What in the actual fuck possessed him to type it anyways?

He began to prepare himself mentally for the likelihood of showing up to class the next morning and be one student short; scowling at himself in disgust whilst kicking his own ass along the trek to the bedroom to change into the usual sleep attire of loosely knitted grey slacks and a white t-shirt.

Rey just finished packing up her homework for the evening, and rescuing Bee-Bee from getting his ball stuck between two unpacked boxes to be put in his cage before she realized there was a message waiting for her on Facebook.

Her weary eyes brightened as Rey's cheeks tugged the corners of her lips into a smile, acknowledging Ben's unexpected message. Rey held her breath in anticipation as she brought the message up on the screen.

 **– Ben Solo –** I barely recognized you, Miss Kanata.

The initial gleam of excitement in her eyes was quickly replaced by the look of horror as Rey realized that she forgot to change the profile picture on her Facebook.

Shit! Oh, shit! Fuck!

Rey tried not to notice the warmth of embarrassment scourging her cheeks as her fingers danced frantically over the keyboard.

 **– Rey Kanata –** Oh. My. God.I'm so sorry XDI was going to change that before I got distracted!I'll go do that now

Remaining true to her word Rey quickly searched for her phone, consumed by more panic that it was missing when she initially had it alongside her on the coverlet. She found it moments later, realizing it had been accidentally tossed into her backpack along with the textbooks and other supplies that were previously scattered over her bed.

Desperate to regain all shards of nobility lost Rey reverted to the simplicity of an iPhone selfie, ignoring the fact that she was wearing no bronzer and that her hair was in a messy bun whilst remaining comfortable in her pajamas.

Rey gave the phone's camera her best toothy grin, cocking her head slightly to one side and ignoring the flash that surprisingly didn't blind her in the room's dim lighting. She regarded the image on her screen, nodding briefly in satisfaction before uploading it to Facebook, replacing the former nightmare with the most recent.

 **– Rey Kanata –** There. Done.

Biting her bottom lip, Rey held her breath as she watched the minutes tick past at the bottom corner of her screen since her last message to him. 5 minutes later. 7 minutes later.

Was Ben ignoring her? Maybe he was offline already? Or maybe the pic scared him off? Unwarranted dread promptly swelled at the pit of her stomach as Rey fret over every possible reason why he hadn't responded to her messages. And, oh god, what would he say to her tomorrow in class?

10 minutes bitterly surpassed with no answer on his end. Rey frowned, ready to give her stinging eyes from staring at the screen a break and go to bed before finally – finally she saw the three little wavering dots move at the bottom of her screen.

It was the indication that Ben was writing her back, and the wait to read his reply was treacherous as Rey felt she were lying on a bed of nails.

 **– Ben Solo –** You look lovely.

A smile broke across her tired features. Smiling proudly at her accomplishment, Rey positioned herself back against her pillows, bringing her laptop along with her to sit upon her folded legs.

 **– Rey Kanata –** Thank you :)I was hoping that I didn't scare you offHaha!

 **– Ben Solo –** Not at allI apologize for taking so long to replyIt's been…an eventful evening

It wasn't completely false, if Ben was talking terms of being candid. But he wasn't about to tell Rey that he had spent the last 20 minutes chiding himself for looking at the original profile photo out of initial instinct; then, proceeding to send her a message that could've been taken in the worst of ways. Having to throw in the conversation with his mother moments prior to discovering Rey's friend request, saying that his nerves were a little on edge was an understatement.

If only the carrot trick worked on him like it did for his horse.

Seeing Rey's reply, and knowing she wasn't the least bit upset over his messy greeting, was enough reassurance for him to calmly sink into the couch's charcoal-grey microsuede upholstery with the electronic notebook on his lap.

 **– Rey Kanata –** I'm sorry to hear that…

 **– Ben Solo –** It was nothing.I got it worked it.

 **– Rey Kanata –** Good to hear! :)

 **– Ben Solo –** YeahHow was your evening?

 **– Rey Kanata –** Homework wise?It sucked :P

 **– Ben Solo –** So I guess this is a bad time to bring up the pop quiz for tomorrow?I hope you studied

 **– Rey Kanata –** God you suck, too

Ben chuckled, realizing how easy and light it was to carry on a conversation with her beyond the walls of the classroom. For the time being it didn't feel like he was talking to one of his students. It was simply him and Rey, conversing like normal friends that weren't regarded as teacher and student.

 **– Ben Solo –** I'm kidding

 **– Rey Kanata –** I'll take my chances either wayBesidesCreeping your boring profile is a lot more interesting than studying at the moment

What surprised Rey most of all was her failure to find a single photo that had been relevant to Ben's life on his parents' ranch. The blank album that was titled Solo-Skywalker Morgan Horses was the only leading source of evidence that the photos must've existed online at some point and had been deleted, but why?

She did manage to find a few pictures of Ben during his college years. He was definitely lankier and less broad in the chest than he was now with shorter hair and ears that still succeeded in making her smile. She also discovered his birthday was in November, nearly ten years apart from hers.

"That's not so bad," Rey muttered, shrugging her shoulders with indifference to the fact.

She continued on her stroll to finding out what else lie behind the 'About' tab on his profile. That was when she came across his favorite movies.

 **– Ben Solo –** I find that very hard to believeWaitYou're creeping me?

Rey giggled at one of the titles listed under his favorite films, scrunching her nose in the process.

 **– Rey Kanata –** Okay. What is this madness, Ben?Frozen is one of your favorite movies?How can you watch that garbage?

 **– Ben Solo –** What???I meanThat's fine, I'm more than happy to explain why Frozen is my favorite film.

 **– Rey Kanata –** Please doBut may I suggest Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin or The Lion King?

 **– Ben Solo –** I've seen them all. And they are great classics.But what other movies have a talking snowman that prefers warm beaches over snow?And hugs, come on, you've never lived until you've gotten to build and hug a snowman.

 **– Rey Kanata –** You do have some valid points thereI suppose the garbage will doDo you think I'll get to build a snowman here this year?I've never seen snow

 **– Ben Solo –** Never seen snow?Hell, you have been sheltered.If we get enoughThe past few years have been pretty stingy with the snowfall

Rey smiled at a thought that suddenly struck her attention.

 **– Rey Kanata –** Since you seem to be an expert with snowmenWould you want to build one with me if we do get enough snow this year?

Ben scoffed, considering a suitable response to her question. Building a snowman with Rey was harmless – right?

 **– Ben Solo –** I would love to, sure.I think that could be arranged.

 **– Rey Kanata –** Good :)Then I hope that we do get some snow.

Me too. It's what Ben wanted to say. Instead, he was cursing his decision to become a teacher. Why did life always appear to throw him the short end of the stick? It felt like he was born doomed to be forever stuck in a vicious cycle of rinse, lather and repeat.

Ben's hands hesitated to respond. Was it so bad that he wanted to tell her that he hoped for the same snow as she? But the wavering dots proved that Rey was beating him to the notion.

 **– Rey Kanata –** I just realized somethingWe're definitely breaking our '2 question rule' right now

 **– Ben Solo –** IndeedI think we can let it slide

Rey chewed her bottom lip, mulling over the question that she had asked him earlier that day. It was obvious now, more than ever, that Ben wanted to keep the topic of his horses and family ranch at an arm's length. Would she be overstepping if she did ask?

She took a breath to risk the chance of asking him, again. However Ben must've had the same thoughts as she and saved her from being the first to broach the subject.

 **– Ben Solo –** I suppose since the topic has been brought up…About the question that you asked me this morning

 **– Rey Kanata –** You don't have to tell me if you don't want to

But Ben did – truly. He did want to tell Rey about the creature that possessed a huge part of his heart.

 **– Ben Solo –** Kylo.That's my horse's name

"Kylo," Rey repeated the animal's name out loud, allowing the corners of her lips to curve upright into a smile. It was different. Unique. But she loved it.

 **– Rey Kanata –** It's a beautiful name.I'm sure your horse is just as equally beautiful as well.

 **– Ben Solo –** He is.

 **– Rey Kanata –** I would love to see him sometime.

Ben took a breath, or it could've been him suppressing a yawn, also. Of course Rey would ask to see Kylo. His mother even said just as much. But how would Kylo act with her? Was he willing to risk that chance?

 **– Ben Solo –** We'll see.

It was an answer that Rey allowed to suffice, considering this was the most that Ben ever allowed her to know about that hidden part of his life. Plus, her eyes were growing heavier by the minute as the evening was abruptly approaching midnight.

 **– Rey Kanata –** I'm glad that we got to talk:)

 **– Ben Solo –** Me too, ReyBut I have to admit…If it's not too bold for me to sayI much rather enjoy hearing you talk in person

Rey was glad that Ben couldn't see the redness taking over her cheeks. Smiling, briefly taking her bottom lip between her teeth, she proceeded to do what neither of them wanted to do at that moment.

 **– Rey Kanata –** Well, luckily 4th period isn't too far awayGood night, Ben

 **– Ben Solo –** Good night, Rey

Powering down and setting her laptop off to the side on the nearby nightstand, Rey crawled under the warmth of her covers, imagining the sound of Ben's voice in her head.


	6. Hugs For Rose

"What about this one?" Rose asked, pivoting from the display table of camisole tank tops to where Rey was adjacently standing.

Rey cocked her head, upper lip drawn awry at the darker shade of burgundy garment that Rose flaunted pinched between her forefingers and thumbs. It looked just like the other pieces of apparel that Rose had held up prior to this one; only one of them had been black and the other a pukey color of mustard.

"It looks just like the other two," Rey scoffed, watching her friend's hopeful face fall in distress.

Why did it matter if the shirt was blue or pink or – whatever? Rey dared to ask just as much, resulting in Rose firing back with a look that was the equivalent to someone purposely stomping on her foot.

"Please, tell me you didn't just ask me that!" Rose cried out dramatically, having to raise her voice a little louder over the grunge music that was playing in the apparel store known as Garage.

Who in the hell would name a clothing store after a space where cars were parked? Or let alone shop in one! But Rey refrained asking Rose what probably would've been considered to be more blasphemous than the prior query.

"I guess I did," Rey shrugged, confirming the obvious without remorse.

"The cami is what pulls the entire outfit together, duh!" Rose quipped with a not so subtle roll of her eyes. "And I need something that'll match this sweater perfectly."

Rey snorted, drawing her arms into a fold over her chest. The gesture made the little pink-striped bag from Victoria's Secret within her grasp bump along her side. "Why do you need my opinion, then? I'm the last person you should be asking about this."

It was true, as a matter of fact. Rey never spent time religiously gushing over clothes in magazines and keeping up with the latest fads like Rose did, which made it a surprise of its own that she agreed to tag along for the after school trip to University Park Mall when Rose invited her earlier during lunch.

Watching the renowned fashion diva prowl through the clothing racks of each department store, searching for the perfect outfit for Poe's party, was like witnessing a glamorized episode on the Discovery Channel first-handed. Not a single article of woven silk, denim, or cotton was left untouched, undergoing heavy inspection before Rose would declare it unfit for the supposed special occasion.

So for Rose to consider Rey's opinion important over something as simple as 'what color tank top should I get,' it was more than enough for the notion to be deemed an honor of its own.

"Because you're my friend and, obviously, your opinion matters so that I don't look like a mismatched tramp at this party tomorrow," Rose implored, puckering her bottom lip into a pout.

Rey heaved a delicate sigh, lowering her chin from Rose's pleading eyes to regard the cardigan draping in the crook of her arm. It was a frothy shade of espresso, embellished with a red and black Aztek design enhanced by a jagged cream-colored border, offsetting the darker diamond-shaped designs from the brown.

"Why not just go with the white cami?" Rey offered thoughtfully, cocking her head.

Rose blinked, casting a frown at the object that she was holding. "Why the white? You don't think that'll be too boring?"

"No, it'll bring out the white around the edges here," Rey explained, motioning a finger at the lighter geometric shapes on the sweater to clarify what she was referencing. "You need something light to balance out the dark."

The initial look of confusion on Rose's face dissipated to one more vacant. It wasn't that dumb of a suggestion – was it? Rey was definitely no expert in the field of fashion, but she liked to think that she had some sort of competency to offer an educated opinion when needed.

"I mean, definitely don't take my word for it." Rey assured without taking offense, retrieving her hand away to its prior position. "White is my 'go to' color anyways, because it goes with just about anything."

"No, I like it!" Rose piped up with a perky tone, eyes immediately brightening with excitement like someone had suddenly flipped the light on upstairs and declared the vacancy inhabited.

"Really?" Rey countered quickly, stunned that Rose accepted her aspect without further quarrel. Her head swelled with renowned self-assurance as she watched her friend deposit the former piece of clothing onto the table, exchanging the burgundy for the white.

"Absolutely! And here I almost considered my faith lost in you for a second." Rose teased, flashing Rey a lively smile that showed off the subtle dimples on her cheeks.

"Such a relief to know that I've regained your confidence," Rey affirmed, feeling proud about her success.

"Now we just need to find something for you," Rose declared over her shoulder, leading Rey to the nearest available check-out register to pay for the two shirts draping over an arm. "You've been following me around like a lost puppy this whole time! Surely there's something around here that's caught your interest besides body spray?"

It wouldn't have been the first time that Rose came close to striking the nail on the head, but Rey wasn't about to admit that she couldn't afford the floppy wool cowgirl hat that she saw during their earlier trek through The Buckle. It was an accessory that Rey never thought she'd take enough interest in to owning, but she loved the turquoise beaded hatband that garnished a pheasant feather at the end.

The hefty price tag that accompanied the garment in question only rendered Rey to feeling nauseous at the thought of shelling out seventy bucks (on sale) for a piece of headwear when Maz had more than her own fair share of income going out for bills and other necessities in life. And it wasn't like she had anywhere special to wear the garment either...

Besides, Rey could already feel the after effects of guilt scourging her conscience from splurging a small portion of savings on a bottle of Pure Seduction from the lingerie store's fragrance section. Throwing more money at an outfit where everyone would more than likely be too drunk to notice what she was wearing sounded pointless.

"I'll just find something at home to wear," Rey assured casually, attempting to disguise the disappointment in her voice with a lighthearted smile. However, the forced gesture applying to the muscles of her lips broke into a frown, heeding the imploring eyebrow lift that Rose proceeded to give her whilst handing over a wad of cash to the store clerk. It only made Rey feel like she had been miserably trying to soothe her own guilty conscience rather than convincing Rose.

Then again, perhaps that had been her initial intent.

Rey groaned, accepting her defeat. "Why do I need another outfit anyways that I'll probably never wear again?"

Rose retrieved the bag from the associate with a genuine 'thank you' before turning to Rey, guiding them out of the store to join the herd of shoppers that gradually managed to increase in size over the 30-minute duration of them being in Garage.

"Because everyone needs that special party outfit that's different from school clothes, Rey. Plus shopping can be therapeutic," she finished, grinning with renewed satisfaction over the prior purchase.

"Maybe for you," Rey mumbled begrudgingly, quirking a brow deliberately to Rose. "It always feels like a chore, watching you fuss over outfits was exhausting enough."

Rose laughed at the lighthearted mockery. "Oh, come on, it can be fun! You don't have to go all out to make it a 'party outfit' if it makes you feel any better. It can be something as simple as a new shirt. Like I have a pair of cut-offs at home I'll be wearing these with," she nodded downward faintly at the bag from Garage, meaning that she was talking about the shirts that it contained. "I just wanted something different to give that little extra pizzazz. And I may have been eyeballing this sweater since they released their Fall line early last month."

Rey narrowed her eyes at the dirt specs and scuff marks from shoes, littering the mall's tile flooring as they walked. Biting her lip, she recalled the amount of money that was left in the satchel draping crosswise over her torso, bumping lightly against her hip with every stride.

Rose took notice of her friend's discomfort. Smiling, she offered some reassurance with a nudge of her elbow against Rey's bicep. "Look, the day is a treat on me anyways. So no worries, okay? Just pick something out."

Rey gasped, provoking a hypercritical look towards Rose with her mouth open agape.

"You don't have to buy me anything," Rey urged, automatically jumping to the defense. "Seriously, please don't think that I'm being some sort of charity case here."

Rose actually looked offended, remaining steadfast to her offer. "Suggesting that I buy you a shirt hardly makes you a charity case. I invited you, and, as your friend, should be able to buy you a fucking shirt if I want."

Rey huffed and rolled her eyes, undecided whether to direct her frustration at Rose or the hunger monster that insisted he growl at the pit of her stomach.

"Fine," Rey relented. "But only if it's on clearance."

Rose couldn't suppress the triumphant grin, confirming her acceptance of Rey's simple term with a nod. "Deal."

"Can we get something to eat then? I'm fucking starving."

"Absolutely!" Rose provided in accord. "There's a Flat Top Grill here in the mall. You can customize your own stir fry."

Rey could already feel her mouth begin to water at the thought of consuming anything that was edible, but stir fry was more than enough cause to spike that initial hunger craving to nearing off the charts. Using her hunger as motivation, Rey remained committed to the mission of picking out something that was appropriate enough for her own taste in party attire while also, taking Rose's suggestions into consideration.

The options at HM came down to a black and white polka-dotted jumper with short sleeves and a sash that crossed over the front, a cut-off tank with an embellished image that depicted the various phases of the moon, and a similar cut-off shirt that adorned an overhead image view of Los Angeles. Rey was beginning to see a pattern with the cut-off shirts, confirming her suspicions when Rose insisted that Rey not be afraid to show off a little bit of skin to her fabulous taut figure.

In the end, Rey wound up finding a white cut-off tee embossed with the phrase 'you are my sun, my moon and all my stars' with images of a sun, moon, and star portraying the corresponding words in the expression. It would surely show off more stomach than Rey was willing to hold on display, but she remembered having a pair of rolled-up jean shorts with a light-knitted grey cardigan to initiate a little peek-a-boo action to the top.

And the best thing of all was that the shirt had been a whopping five bucks on sale, leaving a very satisfied Rey and an even more contented Rose for helping Rey obtain a new piece of attire.

"Poe may like it a little too much as well, if I may say so myself." Rose commented reminiscently, forcing her short legs to work faster in pace to keep up alongside a very determined and hungry Rey towards the new designated location.

Rey curled her upper lip, repulsed by the unanticipated notion as the two shopping bags within her tightening grip bounced about at her side. She had to force a dry swallow as all moisture seemed to be sucked dry from her mouth, acknowledging the ascending bile in her throat. "You're kidding, right?"

Rose gave her a genuinely surprised look. "Seriously? Poe? Why, what's wrong with him?"

Rey tried to play off the distasteful topic as simply not being interested. Allowing her muscles to relax more, she shrugged nonchalantly to make it less obvious that Rose's comment affected her, "I don't know, he's just –."

"Not someone else?" Rose quipped whilst arching a brow, conscious of the knowing look panning over Rey's face.

"No." Rey lied sternly through her teeth, attempting to make it less obvious that there was someone else taking up a space in her thoughts – someone that wasn't Poe. "He's just too pushy."

It wasn't a lie when it was already a fact, right?

Rose nodded, reaching a hand to retrieve her phone in the back pocket of her skinny jeans. "Yeah, well, that's a typical jock for you. Nothing new there to explain."

Rey snorted, merging the notion with an exaggerated sigh in content that the topic died immediately on spot. Thankfully, Rose became too absorbed in missed text messages that accrued over the few hours of shopping to engage the topic further.

The pair made their way in companionable silence to the restaurant known as Flat Top Grill, located at the far south end of University Park. Rose was lost in texts whilst Rey drifted further away in her thoughts.

All seemed to be right in the world, until Rey tugged the door open to the predetermined restaurant. That was when Rose broke attention away from her phone, acknowledging the rigid voice of her proclaimed enemy exiting through their entrance. She had already been sent to the red-headed demon's office three times in three days for wearing shorts that were 'too short' according to the highly enforced school dress code.

Rose's eyes resembled flailing daggers as she glared at the pale-skinned, carrot top male dressed in a neutral dark grey Alfani suit that was the usual attire the ill-famed principal of Mishawaka High wore daily. Luckily, he was too concerned keeping the phone held up to his ear to put forth something that was far more despicable from his tightly pursed lips.

"Tico," the man sneered bitterly, chin held jut.

"Hugs," Rose nipped back, responding to the man with judgmental eyes who had come to stand at the center of the empty hall, waiting for his counterpart.

All the while during Rose and Hux's icy exchange, Rey stared doe-eyed at the man pausing just before the threshold of the open door, wearing an expression exerting that he was just as equally surprised to see her as Rey was to see him.

"Rey," Ben breathed lowly, feeling a tug curl the corners of his lips into a barely noticeable smile.

"Be–," Rey stopped short, blinking her eyes rapidly in realization that she nearly let Ben's first name slip past her lips. Clearing her throat, she proceeded to correct the mistake with an apologetic smile. "Mr. Solo."

The hours seemed like a lifetime since they last saw one another, neither concerned of the fact that Rose and Hux were nearby in the background. It was the first time they were able to see each other outside the classroom, greedily using the pause in time to take in the other's appearance.

For Ben, Rey looked just the same she had earlier that day in school as he did a not so subtle swoop of his eyes to take in her appearance. She was wearing a pair of cut-off jean shorts with pockets peaking below the hemlines of the legs and a green and yellow tie-dye shirt with a pair of navy blue Tom flats on her feet. Her hair was up in a messy bun, allowing a few wispy strays to frame her face that curled slightly at the ends. She looked beautiful without make up, and it hurt so fucking much that Ben had to bite his tongue from telling her.

When Ben came upon the familiar striped-pink bag with a coordinating piece of tissue paper sticking out from the top that Rey held in her grasp, his eyes retreated back to meet Rey's, failing miserably when he tried not to think about the garment that lie hidden from view. It made it harder when he'd inadvertently saw her profile photo the day before, sporting the strappy bikini top with those god damn shorts.

God damnit, why was this so fucking hard?

For Rey, it was the first time she saw Ben without wearing some sort of professional attire, making her believe that he'd changed into the olive green t-shirt that clung tightly to his chest and the dark denim jeans that he wore earlier that week before he left from school.

Her eyes lowered from Ben's to take in how the loose-knitted shirt allowed a better viewing of the subtle outlines of his pecks, causing an unwarranted wave of pictures to flash within her mind. Rey couldn't help but wonder what he'd look like if he could just lose the shirt all together, or, better yet, if she were the one to help him rid of it.

Their hearts sunk in unison when their gazes met again, the awkwardness serving as a prominent reminder that this – relationship – wasn't normal. Normal people that took interest in one another could touch hands, kiss, and hug freely without worrying about their friends seeing them. Nothing between them was normal, nor would it ever be so long as Rey remained a student in the same building as Ben.

It pained Rey to admit how much it hurt watching Ben slip into the mask of being Mr. Solo – her teacher – keeping his face impassive and strict as if she were nothing more than his subordinate.

However, the person shoving his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, like he didn't have a clue what to do with them during the awkward moment? He was Ben, the sensitive person that seeped through the edges of the iron façade when they were alone: the same person that only Rey was allowed to see during their private moments at school.

"Doing some shopping, Miss Kanata?"

Rey followed Ben's lead ruefully, bearing in mind that it was imperative they continue the façade whilst being in the presence of fellow classmates and faculty members alike. It made her more nervous that Principal Armitage Hux was standing not far behind her, still blathering to whoever the poor soul was at the receiving end of the line.

Don't fuck up this time, Kanata!

"Yeah, just got done though. We were ready to eat." Rey replied, referring to Rose who had stood idly alongside her at some point.

"You coming or what, Solo?" The aggravation resonated clearly through Hux's voice, having lowered the phone from his mouth to not yell directly into it.

Ben scoffed, briefly shooting a glare in Hux's direction then back to soft once his eyes resettled on Rey's.

"I'll see you tomorrow, in class," Ben murmured.

Rey made out the subtle tinge of regret in his voice, even though the fierce look in Ben's eyes could've easily said otherwise had she not grown to know him well enough recently. Before Rey had the chance to respond, Ben was already slipping past her, leaving her staring blankly at air that occupied the space he'd been just a few moments sooner.

"He's – intense?" Rose remarked once Ben was out of hearing range, harboring an amused expression on her face.

Rey nodded wistfully, attempting to regroup her bearings. "He has his moments," she affirmed, taking it upon herself to silently lead the way inside the restaurant.

Meanwhile, nearing the exit doors, Ben was answering his own onslaught of questions once Hux managed to hang up the phone.

"So, who's the girl with Tico?" Hux inquired, arching a brow at the screen of his phone that remained in his hand.

Ben stole a sidewise glance at Hux briefly, "She's a student of mine."

"Is that so?" Hux quipped, goading with a smirk. "You must be losing your touch if you're becoming more personable for students to willingly talk to you."

Ben snorted, clamping his teeth down on the inside of his cheeks to remain mute over the remark.

Rey refrained from messaging Ben right away that night on Facebook, though the shame tormenting her conscience from nearly exploiting him in front of Hux and Rose was enough to keep diverting her attention from the textbooks splayed across the bed in front of her to the laptop. She knew that she wasn't going to get any homework done, other than the few problems in Trig, if there wasn't some sort of reassurance from Ben that all was well. Thankfully, Rose never exerted signs of noticing the tension between them and Rey hoped that they hadn't been that obvious, considering she was unable to recall the exact moment that Rose came to stand next to her.

As the late hour of 11:00 P.M. came around, Rey finally caved to temptation and pulled up the desired page on the electronic notebook.

 **– Rey Kanata –**

HeyYou still up?

Ben veered his attention from the lecture he was prepping to the phone that was placed alongside his thigh on the couch, acknowledging the chirp that was the Facebook Messenger app alerting him of a new message. He smiled as soon as Rey's name appeared to him on the screen.

Rey sighed heavily, feeling the weight lift from her shoulders that she'd been carrying around all evening, hindering her from enjoying the amazing bowl of stir fry that she'd conjured up at Flat Top.

 **– Ben Solo –**

UnfortunatelyDoing my own homework

 **– Rey Kanata –** About earlier…at the restaurantI hope that my mess up didn't make things difficult between you and Hux

 **– Ben Solo –** Not at allI don't think he noticedIf he did, Hux wouldn't have waited to make a scene

 **– Rey Kanata –** That's good

Her fingers hovered over the keys, carrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she tentatively typed out her next message, ignoring her heart beating rapidly along the way.

 **– Rey Kanata –**

I'm glad that I got to see you tonightOutside of school

Ben took a shuddered breath, reading over Rey's message multiple times whilst debating whether or not to tell Rey that he too, was happy to have seen her. His thumbs shook nervously as they skimmed over the keyboard on the iPhone's screen, attempting to broach the subject by beating around the bush.

 **– Ben Solo –**

Do you have plans for tomorrow?

 **– Rey Kanata –**

Going to a party at Poe's

Unfortunately

"Damn it," Ben mumbled out loud, hoping that his disappointment didn't sound just as noticeable through the text.

 **– Ben Solo -**

Have fun

Rey frowned at her screen. Did Ben just try asking her out? What if she just blew it for good?

 **– Rey Kanata –**

What about you?

Got anything planned?

 **– Ben Solo -**

Nothing too exciting

Prepping lessons

Along with the usual

 **– Rey Kanata –**

Wanna do my History homework, too?

 **– Ben Solo –**

I actually love history.

It's fascinating

 **– Rey Kanata –**

I wish I could say the same :(

I've been stuck on this fucking topic in the syllabus for over an hour

 **– Ben Solo –**

Tsk tsk

Language ;)

Rey rolled her eyes, laughing.

 **– Rey Kanata –**

Shit

My bad :P

 **– Ben Solo –**

Lol

I can try to help

What's the question?

 **– Rey Kanata –**

It's not really a question that needs answering right now, per se

I have to write a 10-page essay by the end of the semester

About a moment in history of choice

And I have to formally give the teacher my topic choice tomorrow

 **– Ben Solo –**

For World History or American?

 **– Rey Kanata –**

World

 **– Ben Solo –**

Do you have Holdo?

Rey nodded assertively at the screen, rolling her eyes.

 **– Rey Kanata –**

Yes!!

Ugh, she's a horrid wretch.

 **– Ben Solo –**

Not really, you just have to know what strikes her attention

Which is a good thing I know she withholds a great deal of interest in the Russian Czar

She'll devour that paper easily if you write it

 **– Rey Kanata –**

OMG

Seriously??

Ben nodded his reassurance even though Rey couldn't see.

 **– Ben Solo –**

Most students go for the obviously easy topics

World Wars, Native Americans, Boston Tea Party

The more obscure the better you'll do with Holdo

Rey sighed contentedly, wishing it were possible to hug him at the moment.

 **– Rey Kanata –**

You're a life saver, Ben Solo

I really appreciate it

 **– Ben Solo –**

You're welcome

I'm happy to help

 **– Rey Kanata –**

One more thing…

Before I let you go for the night

 **– Ben Solo –**

Oh? What might that be

Rey took a breath, wanting to shed some sort of light in regards to Ben's question about her weekend.

 **– Rey Kanata –**

If anything should change tomorrow night

I'll let you know

Just in case

As much as Ben wished for her plans to change, he knew that it was probably best for the arrangement to remain as it was. For the foreseeable future, it was fruitless to consider anything remotely good could come out of this delicate, highly complicated situation when every odd was already being held against them.

The last thing that Ben wanted to do was hold her back from having a normal school year with normal friends doing normal things, which is exactly what he would do if he would've encouraged Rey to bail on her plans or show the slightest amount of enthusiasm that she would.

 **– Ben Solo –**

Good night, Rey.


	7. T.G.I.F.

"YEAH!" Finn cried out, pumping a triumphant fist above his head as the ping-pong ball sunk into Poe's remaining red Solo cup of Keystone Light.

The final round of beer pong had come down between Finn and Poe, each having one cup left on opposing sides of the 6-foot table after striking out the first nine. The showdown had dragged on for a good solid ten minutes, or so it seemed as Rey stood alongside Rose at the side of the table, ignoring the swell of bodies around them that had gathered to watch the intense match with eyes wide open. Just when it seemed there was going to be a victor the damn ball would skim right over the cup, bounce off the rim, or ricochet off the table to the rim and right on over the table's edge.

Now, finally, Finn had brought the prolonged suffering to an end.

"That was a fucking cheat!" Poe accused, having to raise his voice over the loud whoops and hollers from the surrounding bystanders that overshadowed the background music. "You were leaning!"

"Was not!" Finn affirmed, raising his voice back in defense. "At least not further than I was allowed to be."

Poe growled in annoyance, reaching for the cup that had declared him the official loser of the round and ridding the liquid content of the ball. "Yes, you did," he grumbled. "I call for a rematch."

"Just drink the damn cup, Dameron." Rose spoke out on behalf of Finn's defense, rolling her eyes. "I can vouch for Finn, he wasn't leaning. You're just a sore loser."

"Thank you, sweets." Finn replied, issuing Poe a goading grin. "See? The audience doesn't lie."

"Your girlfriend doesn't count."

"How about you quit being a pussy and just drink the damn beer?" Finn taunted. Snatching his cup from the table, he ambled to the other end to present Poe with the rest of the beer that he was expected to drink. "Here, you can enjoy mine while you're at it," he encouraged, slapping Poe's back with his free hand. "I'd hate to be a hog of all the good stuff."

Poe snorted wryly, which the small cluster of friends was able to hear as the larger crowd had tapered off since the excitement was over. "God, I hate this shit," he muttered with a grimace, gazing apprehensively into the cup that held the worst beverage produced by mankind.

"Is he always like this?" Rey asked, leaning over to Rose regarding Poe.

"Mmhmm," Rose hummed along with a humored look. "Yet he gets his buddies in college to buy the same garbage every time."

"You're supposed to buy the cheap shit for this game," Poe shot back, having taken a large gulp of beer seconds before. "There's no way I'm wasting perfectly good Bud Light on beer pong."

"It'd be a lot more bearable," Rose affirmed. "But if you're not going to do anything about it, then quit your bitching."

"What if a cup gets knocked over? That's a sad waste of the sacred nectar," Poe added prior to guzzling down the remaining content in his cup. Setting it aside on the table, he begrudgingly reached for the one that Finn had given him.

"Speaking of waste," Rose piped up, quirking a brow at Rey, "are you ever going to finish that?"

Rey's attention lowered to the nearly full bottle of Strawberry Hill flavor of Boone's Farm in her hand, dangling to the side over her arm that'd been crossed over the bare half of her torso. Rose's sister, Paige, had bought them each a bottle of the fruity wine cooler during a quick run to the local liquor store prior to Poe's party. Had it not been for Rose mentioning it, she probably would've forgotten the alcoholic beverage that she'd been nursing occasionally throughout the duration of the party.

Truthfully, Poe's party was the first after school event that Rey had ever been invited to by her peers throughout the duration of being in high school, to discover that she wasn't too much of a drinker. Not like her friends, at least, who all were consuming the alcoholic beverage like they'd been birthed and raised at a brewery drinking it from a bottle.

There were also other things that made the night not so enjoyable, like Rey discovering that she'd inadvertently accumulated a disliking for rowdy crowds. The party that was now being overrun by both Junior and Senior Varsity football teams, along with Mishawaka High's cheerleaders, surprisingly didn't start off that way.

Finn hadn't been exaggerating when he said that Poe's parties withheld tendencies to turn chaotic. What started out as a small gathering, with a dozen or so of Poe's closest friends, playing corn hole and beer pong had turned into a full-blown celebration event. Not long past 10:00 P.M. Poe received word from Junior Varsity's captain, Cassian Andor, that the Cavemen had a narrow victory against Mishawaka's long-time adversary Penn Kingsmen.

Alas, being in Poe's nearly 5,000 square foot suburban home suddenly felt like a shack when surrounded by approximately 50 drunken jocks and cheerleaders (including her friends) with Rey being the only one that was remotely sober.

Amidst the chaos Rey somehow found her thoughts drifting back to Ben, and the question that he'd asked her during their chat on messenger. She wondered what he was doing, and what she could possibly be doing with him had she just told Ben that her Friday plans were nearly the same as his. She resisted the urge her fingers were having from loading the Facebook Messenger app onto her phone just to send him a message – even if it was just to say 'hi.'

Rey shrugged, finally acknowledging Rose's question. "I'm just savoring the flavor," she quipped lightheartedly. "Have you even tasted yours?"

Rose held up her own fruity beverage, regarding the few ounces that remained at the bottom of the 25-ounce bottle. "Maybe, it's just so damn good!"

Rey chuckled. It really was a miracle that her very petite friend was still standing on her own two feet, though the slurring of Rose's words and the occasional wavering on her own two feet while standing still hadn't gone unnoticed.

"We could play a game of 'Never Have I Ever,'" Poe suggested, smirking at Rey. "It'll help me drink this shit down and you to get caught up to speed."

Rey scoffed. "How do you play?"

Rose gasped, like Rey had just openly admitted to having sold her soul to Hades himself. "You've never played 'Never Have I Ever'?"

Rey blinked, looking stupefied at Rose. "Is that bad?"

"Rose can be a bit dramatic when she's drunk," Finn teased, grabbing himself a bottle of Bud Light from the case on Poe's kitchen counter. "More so than what she can already be at times."

Rose gestured a middle finger at Finn. "Says the man who should be ready to start streaking in 3, 2, 1…"

"I'm actually not that drunk – yet."

Poe rolled his eyes, taking it upon himself to inform Rey the rules of the game. His inebriated mind found it appropriate to explain with an arm nonchalantly draped over her shoulders, making Rey distortedly scrunch her face and hug her arms tighter over her diaphragm.

Why couldn't he just stay where he was at and explain?

"You see –," Poe paused to hiccup, "one of us will say 'never have I ever' and will say something that we may have or haven't done. If you're guilty, then you take a drink. If you're not guilty, then you don't."

Rey nodded, shrugging her shoulders with enough exertion in hopes that Poe would draw his arm away from her. Unfortunately, he didn't: at least not right away. "Sure," she agreed apprehensively, "I'll play."

All were held in accord of playing the renowned drinking game, which they so vaguely admitted to their guilty pleasures by sipping their own designated beverages. Rose started off the game with an easy open-ended question about never having cried during a Pixar movie; which Rose, Rey and Finn begrudgingly took a swig from their drinks. The questions seemed to get dumber and easier as they went, asking things like 'never having missed a high five' or 'secretly wishing that they were a wizard at Hogwarts.'

Rey scrunched her nose, pondering a question after pleading guilty to two of the prior queries. "Never have I ever kissed a poster of a celebrity."

Rose, Rey and Finn proceeded to glug down more of their drink. Rey arched a quizzical brow at Finn, laughing. "You have kissed a poster?"

"Zoe Saldana," Finn confirmed unapologetically, wearing a dreamy expression.

Poe toasted his cup, agreeing. "Fuck yeah, she's hot. Anyways, never have I ever texted for four hours straight."

Rose gave Poe a wounded look. "Why did you have to call me out like that?"

Poe chuckled, hiccupping again.

"Never have I ever fallen asleep – and woken up somewhere else." Finn declared; glancing around the group to see that he was the only one guilty of doing such act.

"Have you ever considered tying yourself to a chair when you drink?" Rey asked, laughing at Finn. "You may end up in the next town over if you're not careful."

Everyone laughed at that.

"I swear to God I don't know why I do the crazy shit I do when I'm drunk," Finn explained, scoffing heavily.

"Okay, my turn," Rose stated frankly, casting a sly sideways glance at Rey. "Never – have I ever – flirted with someone more than 10 years older than me."

Rey's muscles stiffened at the implication of Rose's words. What all did Rose know? Or better yet, what didn't she know? The questions came pouring through her mind, attempting to ease the panic by telling herself that Hux hadn't noticed the tension between her and Ben, so why would it have been any different with Rose?

Seeing Rose and Poe take their unrepentant drinks, Rey felt the uprising dread subside, but refrained from following suit – just in case.

"Never have I ever been anywhere outside the country," Finn declared, looking at Poe.

Poe grimaced, seeing that he was the only one accountable of such act and took another long swig from his cup. "Smooth, Finn, using my mom who's an international pilot against me."

"You've been nursing that cup for too long. I'm just being a good friend and helping you out," Finn clarified, chuckling at Poe's glare.

"Well, I'll make it easy for the rest of us then, and finish this off. I'm getting bored," Poe announced, clearing his throat. "Never have I ever kissed someone of the opposite sex."

Everyone raised their cups to drink – everyone except for Rey; which it came as no surprise that Rose had been the first to notice her not raise her cup.

"Rey!" Rose cried in an amiable high-pitched squeal. "You've seriously never been kissed?"

Rey frowned and shifted on her feet, suddenly feeling uncomfortable that she had been willing enough to admit being the only person in the entire group that had never been kissed, or had ever come close to committing such act.

"It's not a big deal – right?" Rey asked, now feeling self-conscious about her decision as she gave a wary glance around the group.

"We could change that, you know," Poe mumbled out of the corner of his mouth before chugging down the remaining content in his cup.

Rey tried to pay no attention to Poe's comment. The mere thought of kissing him had been enough to make her skin crawl.

"We could play spin the bottle," Finn offered, wincing when Rose insisted on smacking his bicep with the back of her hand.

"Well, I think it's really sweet," Rose assured, glaring at Finn for a moment before turning to Rey. Smiling, she gave Rey a subtle wink. "Maybe this will be the year for you."

Scoffing, Rey rolled her lips in under her teeth, grazing the tip of her tongue over them in heavy thought. "Maybe," she agreed softly, hoping it to be enough for the subject to change.

Thankfully, the topic quickly changed as Finn announced another round of beer pong – this time with partners. Poe stayed behind, seeing the newfound opportunity of the prior company moving to the designated play area in the dining room to bring up the subject of kissing once again now that his friends were distracted with setting up the new round.

"About that kiss…," Poe suggested in a low voice, cocking a brow at Rey whilst setting the empty cup down on the counter top behind him.

Rey snorted, unwittingly tightening her grip around the neck of her bottle as Poe began to move closer. "With you, Poe – no, I'm sorry."

"Oh, come on, Rey." Poe implored, bringing a hand up to cup her jaw line. "Just one won't kill you will it?"

Rey swallowed thickly, keeping her eyes fixed on his as Poe cocked his head to make the official move. She waited, patiently on a baited breath before dumping the nearly full bottle of Boones Farm over his head. The tightness in her chest simmered with pride as she watched Poe gasp, lurching himself back from her in surprise.

"What the fuck was that for?" Poe bellowed, spitting out the beverage as it ran from his now drenched hair onto his face and lips.

"I would rather kiss a muskrat," Rey sneered, slamming down the empty bottle harder than necessary onto the counter before storming out of the kitchen.

Making her way to the front of the house, she ignored the quizzical glances of half-dazed and confused and agitated 'what the fucks' from guests as Rey pushed through the mass of jocks and cheerleaders. She needed air, something that could assist with freeing her thoughts from thinking anymore on a friend that just tried taking advantage of her. Tonight was supposed to have been a night of fun – with friends.

Now, Rey just wanted to go home.

But where was home? Her only ride here was already three sheets to the wind, and readying to engage in another round of beer pong. Rey didn't have that much to drink. She could be the somewhat designated driver and tell Rose what had just happened, and insist that they leave. But Rey didn't want to be considered the Debbie Downer of Rose's night; it wasn't her fault that Poe had been a selfish douche. And it had all started over something as stupid as a fucking kiss.

It wasn't until Rey had made it successfully outside into the cool evening when she felt her lungs finally breathe the air they'd been holding, not realizing she'd been harboring the breath whilst pushing through the bodies that reeked of stale beer and liquor from accidental spills. She expected to have at least been followed by someone to see if she was okay – by Rose or Finn or, hell, even Poe with an apology!

But there was no one, other than the vast amount of country air with the closest house being 2-acres apart from either side of Poe's residence. It wasn't a wonder that he had been able to get away with having such wild parties. It also made her realize that she'd never felt so alone whilst being within the vicinity of Mishawaka's entire athletic team.

Reaching for her phone that was tucked into her back pocket of her shorts, Rey considered calling her aunt, not realizing she had been shaking from nerves after the phone had been within her grasp. She'd told Maz that she was going to a friend's house, and was prepared to face the notion of having to admit the sort of gathering that it was. However, she had been spared again when she saw Maz's text message that had been sent roughly an hour ago.

 **– Aunt Maz 10:30 P.M. –** Rey, don't wait up for me.Gotta stay over past normal shift

"Of fucking course," Rey sighed in defeat, though it wasn't unexpected that Maz would have to stay a few hours past her normal shift time.

Rey considered waiting out the remnants of the party outside, hoping that Rose would be ready to leave after this round of beer pong before the thought of contacting one person she least expected to consider getting a hold of crossed her thoughts. It was already 11:30, making her second guess the notion of messaging Ben before realizing that the Facebook Messenger app was being downloaded to her phone.

As she loaded up the app onto her screen Rey tried to reassure herself that the friendship between them was worth something so much more that he'd understand, hoping to help ease the worry of sounding like an insipid little school girl that couldn't handle her first high school party.

"God, I'm so lame," she chided, wearing a scowl whilst forcing herself to send the message before she could regret reaching out.

 **– Rey Kanata –** Are you busy?

Rey waited, staring at the screen as if it had the ability to project Ben to her location at the exact moment. Minutes began to slowly pass, making the hour draw closer to midnight before it became apparent that Ben wasn't going to answer her – at least not at this hour. She almost gave up hope that she was surely about to spend the rest of the evening miserable at the forsakened party before the three wavering dots at the bottom of her screen appeared.

Rey never thought she'd be so glad to see three little dots as she was then.

 **– Ben Solo –** Not at allHow's your evening?

 **– Rey Kanata –** Can you come get me?

There was a long pause: a period that went too far being drawn out as Rey thought she'd officially crossed the line. She was almost afraid to read the message that followed the next series of wavering dots.

 **– Ben Solo –** Are you okay?Where are you?

Rey heaved a sigh in relief, smiling. Her head turned to consider the neighboring surroundings. It was dark, too dark to really make out any sort of landmarks or anything that would make it easy for Ben to find the house.

 **– Rey Kanata –** I'm standing outside of Poe's.I don't know his address though.

 **– Ben Solo –** That's okayFind a friendI can sync your Facebook with contacts and find you that wayIf that's okay?

 **– Rey Kanata –** Of course, pleaseI'm so sorry to bother youI didn't know who else to get a hold of

 **– Ben Solo –** It's not a problem.It may take me a little longer to get thereAre you okay though?

Rey smiled, regarding the fact that Ben had already asked her earlier and realized that she failed to give him a response.

 **– Rey Kanata –** I am now.

It virtually took a half hour from the moment Ben climbed into his classic red 1958 Chevy pick-up truck at his parents' ranch to the moment he found Rey, standing alongside a weed-infested ditch just outside a home that appeared to be too quiet and dark for a party home.

Catching sight of Rey's position, Ben immediately killed the headlights so to not intentionally blind her. He steered the vehicle to a designated stopping place alongside the road, roughly 20 feet from where Rey was standing. Judging by the weary turned relieved look on her face, he presumed that the evening hadn't gone as well as she'd initially planned.

Hugging her arms just above her flesh-exposed abdomen, Rey began walking towards him as Ben climbed out of the truck to meet her half-way. Ben immediately failed at catching sight of the bare and toned muscles of her stomach, hoping that it hadn't been entirely too noticeable that he had to blink when forcing his eyes to meet her face.

That was also before he begrudgingly noted the desirable fact that seeing her uncovered in a photo paled in comparison to the real thing in person.

"Rey," Ben exhaled a breath, shoving both hands into the front pockets of his jeans as he came to a halt before her.

"I'm so sorry," Rey exerted prior to feeling the need to explain further, craning her neck back enough to meet his concerned eyes. "I didn't know who else to call – or message, I guess."

"What happened?" Ben asked, frowning at her unease.

Rey took a breath, feeling she may as well provide him some sort of explanation as to why he'd willingly driven all this way just to pick her up from a high school party. "We were playing this stupid drinking game, kind of like truth or dare, and one of the things was me basically admitting to never having kissed anyone before," she explained, looking down at her feet that were being engulfed by weeds to ease her embarrassment. "And Poe declared that he be the one to do it."

Ben's heart went heavy, hearing her admission. He knew that Rey deserved better – much better. Had the circumstances between them been entirely different, he admitted in his thoughts to have wanted to be the one to give Rey her first kiss.

That, unfortunately, was only wishful thinking…

Ben drew in a breath prior to placing a comforting hand tentatively on her shoulder, encouraging Rey to revisit his apprehensive stare. "For what it's worth, he's a fool to believe that he could take whatever he wanted from you. And don't be ashamed, okay?"

Rey's frown slowly levitated into a smile. "Okay," she nodded, accepting his reassurance.

Ben held her stare, unaware of the few moments that passed from Rey agreeing, to him removing his hand from her shoulder. He silently accompanied her back to his truck, chivalrously opening the passenger door for her before settling into the driver's seat once again.

They fell into a short-lived companionable silence following Rey giving Ben the name and address to her apartment building. The sound of tires rolling over the asphalt on the road beneath them was all that could be heard for some time.

He pondered over the many topics that could be relatively useful for breaking the unwarranted silence. It was so much easier discussing a book with her in the allotted minute before class and chatting behind the safety of a digital device than it was practically nudging elbows with Rey in the confinement of his truck.

Ben shifted anxiously in his seat, blaming the discomfort on the wallet digging its way into his ass cheek prior to forcing himself to act like an adult. It occurred to him then, that he hadn't gotten the chance to shower after coming in from the horse barn that night.

"I'm sorry it took so long to get here," he admitted, clearing his throat shortly. "And for the fact that I probably smell like I've been rolling in a herd of livestock all week."

Rey scrunched her nose, giving a light chuckle. "I wasn't going to say anything."

"I wouldn't have been offended if you would've."

Rey pivoted in her seat to face him better, bringing a foot up under her to sit on whilst leaning her shoulder against the passenger door's window. "So, you weren't just sitting at home doing lesson plans?" She asked, scoffing and feeling guilty for having pried him away from his own plans to rescue her like a damsel in distress.

Ben stole a quick look in her direction, shaking his head to her query. "I was at my parents', actually."

Rey snorted, feeling more frustrated than before. "I'm so sorry. I should've just stuck the party out and waited for my friend that I went there with. It wasn't so bad outside the house."

"Stop apologizing," Ben assured gently. "I have to be back tomorrow anyways, so it's nothing that could've been held off for the night."

"You have to be back?" Rey repeated, then immediately felt dumb for asking a question that should've been obvious answer-wise Ben was spending time with his family. "I'm sorry; I don't mean to keep prying."

"You're not," Ben replied with a grating tone after a short pause. He pondered over the few hopeless ways that wouldn't make the revelation sound more ridiculous than it would already be. He decided to just cut to the chase, considering the fact that Rey was seventeen he surely had nothing to lose with her at this point. "Kylo, my horse that I told you about, is a special needs horse. He was abused – pretty badly, before we got him. And dealing with a horse that suffers from post-traumatic stress isn't exactly the easiest when I'm the only one he's not an insufferable prick around."

Rey perked her brows, teetering between laughing at the fact that Ben called his own horse a prick and feeling sorry for the creature being held in discussion. "So, you go to him every weekend?"

Ben nodded, rolling his lips distortedly. "Every weekend," he confirmed with eyes remaining on the road ahead.

Rey considered him knowingly, cocking her head. "When we were talking last night, were you going to ask me to go with you?"

Ben swallowed and nodded, silently confirming the query. His eyes refrained from meeting hers, keeping his focus on the road as he turned onto the designated street where Rey's apartment was.

Rey drew her bottom lip with an incisor, knitting her brows. "What about tomorrow?"

Ben blinked once, twice, and certain that there was a third in there before his vision reverted from the road to see Rey was actually serious about going with him. "Are you sure? You really want to go?"

Rey nodded, smiling. "I do. Oh, you can pull in right here," she explained, gesturing to where her apartment was stationed from the parking lot.

Ben couldn't have been more grateful for that moment, considering he was beaming internally like a fucking kid that just landed his first date to prom. Still, he abstained from holding back the smile showing how ecstatic he was that Rey wanted to go with him to his parents' ranch. It would surely bring on an entirely new onslaught of nerves after she was gone, but it was a notion that Ben was willing to currently endure as he guided the truck in to park.

"I have to leave early," he warned, urging up the gear shift into park. "So I can pick you up about 7:30?"

Rey nodded, agreeing as her hand hovered over the door handle. "I can't wait," she confirmed with a smile. "Thank you for tonight, Ben. I'm truly grateful."

Ben mirrored her expression, eyes fixed on hers whilst keeping his right hand gripped tightly to the steering wheel – just in case. "Good night, Rey. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night," Rey affirmed quietly, pausing a moment prior to forcing herself to leave.

It wasn't until she had opened the door and exited his truck that Ben realized it felt different watching her leave this time. Perhaps, it was the fact that he'd gotten the chance to see her outside of school without hiding behind the teacher façade, or, maybe, it was the glance she gave him over her shoulder before disappearing through the stairwell door of the complex.


	8. Kylo

Farm country: a world where buildings morphed into trees, and cemented roads merged with gravel and dirt. Stop signs, billboards, and street lights were traded for parallel lines of corn and beans, and pedestrians on sidewalks for cows grazing in open pastures. Rey never thought she'd find a farmer's combine fascinating until she got to see one in action, combing its way through rows upon rows of corn for the approaching autumn's harvest.

There were plantations where a single piece of machinery or vehicle couldn't be seen, where combines were replaced with massive draft horses pulling plows and horse-drawn buggies were the sole means of transportation. What she found highly amusing was the laundry holding display on primeval clothing lines: men's simple button-up shirts, women's skirts, and underwear alike. Ben called them 'Amish,' saying that this was their half of the rural regions before they managed to make it back to the 21st century sector of the countryside.

Ironically, it was a world Rey never thought she'd fit in, yet it all started with the choice to take a course in Agriculture – and meeting one very specific teacher.

That was before the jitters started settling in her stomach, intensifying with every turn that Ben made from each winding road that reminded her where they were going.

"What if they don't like me?" Rey asked unconfidently, gazing out the truck's passenger window at a home with a lone horse grazing in its pasture.

"They're horses, Rey." Ben remarked, smiling crookedly at the windshield. "I can assure that you have nothing to worry about."

Rey rolled her eyes, providing him an annoyed look. "I meant your parents."

"Again, you have nothing to worry about."

Rey cinched her brows at the center, pondering her words for a drawn-out moment. "I just – I don't know," she sighed, looking at her laced fingers in her lap. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

Ben frowned, prying his focus from the road to steal a glance in her direction. "I can still turn around," he offered, nearly whispering. "We're not there, yet."

Rey failed to answer at first. Here, she'd spent the last 48-hours longing for this opportunity and was already on the verge of blowing her initial chance to spend a full day with Ben.

"If it's any consolation to you, I'm nervous, too." Ben admitted as the edge underlying his tone broke the long stretch of silence.

Rey finally looked at him, surprised. "Really?"

Ben nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. "Like hell."

Rey considered him, feeling more at ease that she wasn't the only occupant in the vehicle that was nervous. The former taut muscles in her face gradually loosened as the corners of her lips tugged a smile, permitting the former butterflies in her stomach to subside.

"Why?" She asked, suddenly curious if it was relative to her own unease.

Ben drew in a breath, propping his elbow upon the driver's side window ledge whilst adjusting his weight uncomfortably in the seat. "It's not that I'm worried what they'll think of you," he scoffed, striving to conceal the grimace by chewing the inside of his cheek. "It's quite the contrary."

Rey blinked in bewilderment. "I'm not quite sure I follow? Why would you worry about what I would think?"

There was that question, again – why. It was a word that started to become a plague to his thoughts whenever he found himself thinking about her; which was roughly 99 percent of the time when Ben wasn't trying to concentrate on work-related matters.

But regarding her question, perhaps he wanted Rey to like his parents and, maybe, it was him feeling the pressure that this meeting would ultimately make or break this connection he had with her. She was the only girl that he ever felt the need to bring home, allowing her to see this world that he always tried to keep separate from prior relationships that ultimately failed.

Aside from Rey meeting his parents – there was Kylo. To say that Ben was nervous how the temperamental stallion would take to her made him sound more pathetic than he already did in his thoughts. That still wasn't the worst half of it all: they weren't even dating nor did it seem likely they ever would. Ben was beginning to believe he was enjoying this psychological torment he'd inadvertently got himself into.

However, all of those things were much too complicated to explain at the moment. They were quickly arriving upon the junction that led to the ranch. Ben had to settle for an explanation that was simple, something that remained somewhat close to the truth as he made the left turn.

"My father was in an accident several years ago," Ben explained tentatively. "Let's just say, considering his condition, his pride appears to be what suffered the most. Try not to take too much of what he says to heart."

Rey conceded with a nod, drawing in her bottom lip between her teeth. "What happened?"

Ben winced, recalling the vivid memory. "A horse took a tumble; unfortunately, my father just happened to be the one riding it," he explained, promptly changing the topic as he took another turn directly off the main stretch of dirt road. "We're here."

Rey's interest veered to the front of the vehicle. Pushing all queries regarding Ben's parents aside, she was immersed in a world that looked as if she leapt directly into the novelization of Black Beauty. Jaw falling slack, it drew her lips to gape in awe at the magnificently rich, green pastures carpeting the landscape that was Solo-Skywalker Ranch.

Maple and oak trees, whose leaves were just starting to change in honor of the approaching fall season, provided exquisite scenery to the backdrop. In fact, it was the most green Rey admitted to have seen in her life. Lost within a trans-like state, she didn't realize that she'd muttered the words out loud, encouraging a knowing expression to grow on Ben's face when he granted himself a look in her direction.

Stationed at the center of weather-wooded fences that lined individual grazing fields (which occupied a dozen or so horses moseying about the lush turf) was a circular, dirt-layered arena that was specifically used for training.

The heart of the ranch was the house stationed at the end of a long, cement-paved drive to the left of the main horse paddock: a two-story with dual garage doors and French-style paned windows. The foundation was lined in grey granite stone, accenting the weathered cedar siding with stained wooden trim along the roof as well as providing an elaborate arched design at the main peaks and above the home's main entrance. A stone hearth was at the far end of the residence near the front doorway. Small shrubs lined the front door's main walkway. At the back of the house, Rey could see what she initially guessed to be the barn's steeple peeping from beyond the roof.

"How big is this place?" Rey asked, her voice sounding dazed and afar from gawking.

"About 30 acres," Ben affirmed, smirking when Rey regarded him with an astonished look as he put the truck into park. "That also includes riding trails at the back half of the property."

"It sounds amazing," Rey commented, smiling in wonder. "Do you think we would have time to do that today?"

"First things first, you need to know how to ride to tackle some of those trails."

"Oh, I wonder where I could possibly find someone to teach me," she goaded. Cocking her head, she grinned mischievously whilst placing a pointer finger against the jut of her jaw.

Ben chuckled at her persistence. "How about if I just show you around first and we'll go from there?" He challenged, fueling her tenacity. "Anyways, there is someone that I would like for you to meet."

Rey eyed him skeptically; falling in sync with Ben as they wordlessly unbuckled and exited the truck. She paused for a moment, taking in the subtle smell of freshly burning brush far off in the distance that had been captured within the morning's gentle breeze as she closed the door to the old classic.

"Is it another family member, perhaps?" She called from over the hood, meeting Ben in front of the Chevyemblem on the truck's grill.

"Something along those lines, yes." Ben assured cryptically, shoving his hands into his pockets. He urged her to follow with an advising jerk of his head, leading them around the closest side of the house to the far eastern back lot of the property, precisely where Rey had guessed the barn to be.

As if Rey didn't believe she could be anymore awed by the beauty of this place, the mere sight of the barn was enough to make her envious of the animals it traditionally inhabited.

The rustic-looking lodge had two massive barn doors positioned on a rolling track, each brandishing a large angel hair vine wreath that mirrored the opposite door's lower midriff. Two steeples (one narrower than the other in width) were placed centralized to the roof's peak. Decorative shrubs and two small pear trees with a variety of perennials in small flower beds elaborately furnished the gravel-paved pathway, just outside the barn's colossal entrance.

The interior of the barn was as equally stunning as its outer appearance. Massive beams alternated crossing lengthwise to angling upright towards the lofty ceiling. Brick paving served as a melodramatic walkway down the center with eight wrought-iron stalls strategically lining the left side of the barn and another four to the right at the far end, leading to more fenced-in pastures that Rey could see from where she and Ben were standing.

And the lighting…the lighting was provided by old-fashioned lanterns situated above the gate to each stall. If Rey hadn't known any better, she never would've guessed horses would be housed here later on in the day.

Aside from the cleanliness of the place, there was a potent blend of freshly polished leather extending from the open prep area at the right upon entering: where every bridle, saddle and other necessities for horses, riders, and staff was kept. The aroma easily blended with the dusty and slightly sweet-smelling earthy scent of freshly bailed hay, manure, and horse sweat lingering in the barn's atmosphere.

The slightest intake of breath was enough for the stench to awaken every one of Rey's senses. Regardless of being a very unpleasant odor in essence, it was exactly how Ben smelled the night before. It should've made her scrunch her nose like it previously did, but, instead, it made Rey smile in commemoration. It was enough to make her ponder whether Ben had dropped everything that he'd been doing to come to her time in need, or if he had just started to settle down after a long day's work – school and ranch alike.

Ben offered Rey a pair of rubber slop boots in exchange to save her converse sneakers from treading through unforeseen piles of 'horse bombs' scattered sporadically throughout the property.

"So, who are we seeing that we're getting so dolled up for?" Rey teased, arching a brow at Ben whilst folding her arms over her chest. She stood brazenly in front of him, bending a knee to display the newly acquired footwear.

"Getting impatient, are we?" Ben countered, evoking an agitated groan from Rey while pulling on boots similar to hers.

"Why the big secret?" Rey scoffed, lifting her chin as Ben rose to his full height.

Ben nodded towards the entrance at the opposing end. "You'll see here in a second, this way. At least, I'm assuming he's out here. I didn't see him out front when we came in."

"Who?" Rey asked, following alongside him with piqued curiosity.

Ben made a clicking sound out of the corner of his mouth, like he was calling for someone that couldn't be seen beyond the shelter's interior. Rey would've asked what it was for had it not been for the soft whinny responding from the pasture outside the barn's southern exit. Slowing her stride at the slope in the concrete just outside the massive doorframe, she gazed in awestruck at the majestic animal trudging through the pasture at a leisure pace. His head was held low, bobbing along subtly with each stride.

"Ben," Rey exerted in a breath, "is that - ?"

"Kylo," Ben confirmed, greeting the animal with a smirk that arrived at the fence within a matter of seconds after seeing his master as Kylo had urged himself into a quick trot. Rey considered the sweet reunion as watching someone welcome home a long lost friend, like it had been years since the horse last saw Ben rather than a matter of hours.

Seeing Kylo in person paled in contrast to what Rey had imagined him to be, having never set eyes upon a horse wholly covered from head to hoof in a coat that was as black as onyx. A wild mane framed his face and neck in finely trimmed layers of waves, offsetting a body that was darker than burning blocks of coal.

Then, there were Kylo's eyes, resembling windows to a gentle yet tattered soul speckled with blotches of a light honey-colored brown. His face was divided by a scar that left the right side of his mug features and neck painfully disfigured, making her heart sink in wonder of what his story entailed.

"He is beautiful," Rey confessed, setting an imploring gaze on Ben. "Can I?"

Ben considered her wish, hesitancy blatantly engulfing his features as he looked from Rey to Kylo. Flexing his jaw, he placed a comforting hand at the base of the horse's muscular neck, gently patting him for reassurance.

"Steady," Ben murmured softly, extending the other hand for Rey's.

Rey didn't know what to expect when she accepted Ben's silent offer. She held her breath, tuning the world out around her as Ben guided her hand, replacing his with hers upon Kylo's neck. Rey smiled, laughing proudly when she felt the coarse texture of horse hair beneath the pads of her fingers and palm.

Ben's hand remained on hers, but only for a moment as Kylo shifted nervously on his hooves and exerted an acknowledging grunt that prompted his nostrils to flair, making Rey flinch at the unexpected sound.

"Steady," Ben coaxed, running his free hand over the narrow velvety incline of Kylo's snout. When all seemed well and apparent that the horse was calm, Ben retrieved his hand from Rey's.

Setting all apprehension aside of how the initial meeting with Rey and Kylo would play out, Ben was taken aback and speechless. He heaved a sigh in relief, allowing himself to release air he hadn't realized his lungs had been holding. Since Kylo had come into the ranch's possession he was truly incapable of remembering any moment that the horse had bonded so well with another human that wasn't him.

"I think he likes you," Ben pointed out, cracking a smile to Rey.

A smile of her own beamed across Rey's cheeks. She laughed, oblivious to having glossy eyes while she gazed up at the magnificent animal, mindlessly caressing his coat and imprinting the feeling into her mind for keeps. "I think it's safe to say the feeling is mutual," she agreed, sniffing. "Can we ride him?"

Ben drew in a deep breath, feigning apprehension by stating the truth. "I should probably wash him up first. I was supposed to yesterday and never got around to it. We might not get to by the time he dries out."

Rey nodded, disappointed but understanding Ben's reason. "Can I help?"

"Absolutely," Ben affirmed. "I'll grab his bridle quick."

Her eyes trailed after Ben, silently watching him make a quick jog to the barn. "Can I tell you a secret?" She asked, returning her sights back to Kylo, eyeing him imploringly as if the horse withheld capabilities to carry on a civilized conversation with her. "But you can't tell him, okay?"

Kylo remained motionless, other than the casual ear flick to the side as if listening intently to every word Rey was saying. She took it as a sign that he agreed.

Rey grinned, snickering lightly. "Okay, this is between you and me. But I kinda like him – a lot."

Kylo snorted, turning his head askance in her direction. His head bobbed slightly, suddenly seeming interested in a patch of grass by her feet that he couldn't reach from behind the fence. Rey laughed and patted him gently on what would be his shoulder.

"Glad to know we have an understanding."

Rey ambled alongside Ben as he led Kylo to the external cleaning station located at the eastern side of the barn. Deciding to play it safe as he wasn't certain how Kylo would react to another person cleaning him, Ben instructed Rey to take charge holding the lead rope, ensuring that Kylo would stay in place while Ben worked. Rey was less enthused about the seemingly boring job; however, she dubbed it best to not second guess Ben's reasoning, bearing in mind the reputation that Kylo obtained.

Ben discarded his glasses and plaid shirt on a nearby bench. Truthfully, watching Ben hose the horse down was like witnessing Rose shopping at the mall: it was pure fucking torture. He was wearing a white tee-shirt with sleeves that clung greatly to his biceps, rising far enough above the waistline of his jeans whenever Ben lifted his arms to reveal the dark trail of hair traveling from his navel.

Drawing the side of her bottom lip with an incisor Rey felt the blood rush to her cheeks, causing an unfamiliar fermented ache between her thighs as thoughts of what lie beneath that dark denim began scourging her brain.

Unfortunately, all good things were never meant to last for long as a shower of freezing tap water hosed down the front of her attire. Rey yelped at the sudden cold rush, lowering her chin to see that the front of her white baseball tee with navy quarter-sleeves was now completely drenched – and exposing the pink bra with polka dots adorned underneath.

"Shit! Fuck – Rey, I am so…" Ben immediately lost his words, realizing the unfortunate mishap while bathing Kylo had clearly taken its toll over Rey's attire. His face took on a vibrant shade of red when he saw what had certainly not been for him to see as Rey folded her arms over her chest, giving him a nervous laugh in hopes of easing the awkward tension.

"What happened?" She inquired, trying not to sound harsh.

Ben Solo was at a fucking loss for words, until his brain finally managed to compute what just happened and that he'd been shamelessly staring at Kylo's handy work. "I – uh – sorry," he cleared his throat self-consciously, proceeding to explain. "Blame it on the horse. He found it funny to snatch the hose. I couldn't react fast enough."

Rey looked to see Kylo standing tall and proud, unbothered of the fact that his little antic had caused a momentary (and embarrassing) catastrophe. She couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, allowing the initial accusatory look to subside.

"You're lucky I'm a big forgiver," Rey stated as a matter of fact.

Ben swallowed heavily, purposely fixing his attention on the prior task. "You can borrow my shirt," he offered, considering her warily through his peripheral. "You can use the first stall on the left to change if you want. There's nothing in it."

Rey happily accepted his offer; regardless if the shirt he'd loaned her in exchange for the sopping rag of the other easily devoured her lean figure. She made better use of the significant size difference and left a few of the bottom clasps unbuttoned to tie the ends together, fashionably forcing the garment to conform to her tiny waist size. She rolled the sleeves so that they now came below her elbows instead of dangling a foot past her fingertips.

She may have also given the shirt an unabashed sniff, acknowledging the subtle musky scent lingering inside the collar that seemed to bring on a new wave of warm fuzzies.

Ben nodded his approval when Rey rejoined him a few moments later at the cleaning station.

"I think you wear it best," Rey teased lightly, feeling relaxed again.

Ben cracked an uneven grin, permitting all prior insecurity to recede. "I disagree, but I think it could be left open for debate."

Rey nodded and laughed, making sure she was more aware of Kylo's movements rather than eye fucking Ben when she retained to pick up where they left off and hold the horse's lead. They fell into a companionable silence as Ben finished bathing Kylo; which the horse now smelled handsomely like oatmeal in opposition to – well, shit – for lack of better terminology.

"Are you hungry?" Ben asked, confident that he'd heard Rey's stomach growl from the other side of the corral after returning Kylo to his pasture.

Rey huffed, exerting a dramatic sigh. "I thought you would never ask. Those two breakfast burritos didn't last long."

Ben chuckled, agreeing with the notion as he led the way to the house after depositing their muck boots in the barn and Rey's soggy shirt in the truck.

Rey had barely made it through the front door of the residence when a wave that reeked of freshly baked cookies with a hint of cinnamon tickled her senses, causing her to slowly pass through the Solo's open foyer and take in the smell of homemade snicker doodles. It was a memory she'd left forgotten in the deepest recess of her thoughts since her mother died.

The bittersweet memory triggered a whole new round of unsolicited emotions: ones that Rey never thought could be renewed as she stopped outside what she considered to be the dwelling's main sitting area to take in her newfound surroundings, ignoring the fact that Ben had continued into the neighboring sector that was the dining room and kitchen.

There was hospitable warmth wielded beyond the rustic décor and vintage western-style rugs lying on the barn wood planks for flooring. The atmosphere itself rendered a feeling that Rey considered to be almost foreign, mulling over the initial concept whilst gawking at the floor-to-high-ceiling stone fireplace in the living room. Rey wondered how many times Ben had spent his evenings reading books or building blanket forts in the living room with a vaulted ceiling, completely disregarding the room's lone occupant in the process.

"Hey, Ben is that –." The man's words abruptly ended midsentence, pivoting at his waist in the wheelchair stationed along the room's front window with a built-in reading nook to see Rey. "Oh," he said, realization emerging across his elderly features. "You're definitely not Ben."

Rey flinched, embarrassingly startled by the unexpected inhabitant whilst chiding herself for possessing the inability to examine rooms for an occupant before snooping. She gave a hesitant laugh, agreeing. "No, I'm definitely not."

"Ah," he scoffed, setting aside the unforeseen book that had been in his lap onto bench of the window's alcove. Hands gripping the top portion of the chair's wheels, he rotated the chair to better see his guest, mumbling some indecipherable words along the way. "You must be a new rider around here – got a name kid?"

Rey blinked, confusion panning over her face. It occurred to her then, considering the man wearing a navy pin-striped oxford tucked inside dark denim jeans with hair covered in grey, thought her to be a student.

Which she was – technically.

"Oh! Oh, um – no, I'm not a rider," she explained, gulping. "I'm a friend of Ben's."

That's what she was – right?

The man's grim expression turned elevated, quirking a corner of his mouth into a grin. "You must be Rey."

Rey drew a breath, stumbling over her words in shock. How did he know?

"Yes," she replied, intending to not be rude and stare incompetently. She proceeded to enlighten him further, gesturing her hand towards the object he'd placed down a few seconds prior. "I apologize if I bothered you Mr. –."

"Han," he corrected promptly. "Please, call me Han. The whole prefix thing makes me sound older than I am actually."

Rey laughed, feeling easy with the added humor. "It is a pleasure to meet you then, Han. And I'm assuming that you're Ben's father?"

Han looked wounded, "What gave you that idea?"

Rey blinked again, having not considered the fact that this man could've been a step-parent or other family member. "Oh! I guess, I just assu–."

"I'm just messin' with ya." Han explained, chuckling at her credulous personality. "You hungry kid? I think my wife was getting around to making some sandwiches or something in the kitchen."

Rey nodded, letting Han lead the way from the room to the aforementioned area of the house, nearly colliding with Ben's bulky form when they rounded the doorway of the dining room.

"I think you lost someone." Han called over his shoulder, acknowledging that his son was probably going to look for her.

Ben rolled his eyes, arching a brow at the fact that Rey had accompanied his father. "Everything okay?"

Rey nodded, exerting a sigh. "I really need to make it a habit to not gawk in rooms without looking first."

"You didn't call him a prick did you?"

Rey snorted, "No! I learned my lesson the first time."

Ben chuckled, escorting Rey the remaining distance to where his mother was in the kitchen. "Are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches okay?"

Rey nodded, appearing elated about the menu. "It sounds amazing. Anything sounds better than the usual take out and microwavable dinners that I typically have."

Ben grimaced, "All the time?"

Rey nodded again, however spared from having to explain her aunt was an adverse workaholic when Ben's mother, Leia, caught sight of their new guest. If there was any doubt lingering at the back of Rey's thoughts in regards of what his parents would think of her, the apprehension had finally been put to a sudden rest.

Leia immediately greeted her with open arms and a smile that was far warmer than Rey initially expected, like they'd known her for years rather than just meeting her. If she had to be honest, Ben appeared to be just as relieved as she was – if not more.

"I hope peanut butter and jelly is okay, Rey?" Leia asked hopefully, turning back to her meal preparations as Rey claimed the seat next to Ben (across from Han) at the table in the integrated dining room. "It's quick when you have to constantly be on the go around here. There's also fresh vegetables and dip from the market."

"It sounds fantastic," Rey replied enthusiastically. "Are those snicker doodles that I smell?"

Leia nodded, seeming proud. "It's my mother's recipe – all made from scratch. They're Ben's favorite as well."

Rey turned to Ben, seeing him cock a smile at the corner of his lips.

"Would it be selfish of me if I claimed dibs on all of them?" Rey teased, giving him a cheeky grin.

Ben snorted, deciding to play along. "Just a little, but you may have some competition."

Rey's grin grew wider, "Challenge accepted."

"Has Ben gotten to show you much of the ranch today, Rey?" Leia asked, having moved closer to place a fine piece of Blue Willow dinnerware with a reasonable amount of freshly picked vegetables to accompany two sandwiches. She proceeded to set down the container of vegetable dip with a serving spoon at the center of the table that had been in the other hand's grasp.

"Not too much, yet. What I could see though from the drive and rear half of the barn, you have a beautiful property." Rey explained; kindly thanking Leia when she returned with plates meant for her and Ben.

Leia smiled proudly, mirroring Han's expression.

"And the horses?" Han asked, intrigued what Rey had to say.

Rey scoffed, casting an expectant look to Ben. "Just Kylo," she admitted, turning back to Han. "He's gorgeous. I've never seen a horse quite like him."

A heavy sound of silence filled the room, prompting Ben to immediately meet Han's glare upon the mentioning of an animal that was primarily avoided at any discussion around the table – or any time for that matter.

It didn't take the need for having knowledge of rocket science for Rey to notice the tension building between Ben and his father. Frowning, she realized that she'd inadvertently reignited a flame underneath an already hot and simmering kettle.

"You just couldn't resist taking her there, could you?" Han snapped bitterly; eyes filled to the brim with disappointment and fixed on Ben.

Ben set his jaw, fighting harsh words he'd been known to retort within the past whenever the subject of Kylo had been brought up. "He was fine today. She just held the lead while I gave him the bath."

"I don't give a damn if he didn't flick an ear at a blow fly that horse is the biggest liability on this ranch. Think about Rey here, Ben. Do you want her to end up like –."

"I said I had him under control," Ben sneered through gritted teeth, cutting Han's words off. "He was fine."

Leia quickly took the queue for damage control, fixing a sharp look at her husband with words piercing just as harsh. "Han, that's enough."

Han didn't repent, grumbling loud enough for Ben to hear whilst returning to the plate of food before him. "That horse should've been put down a long time ago."

Rey held her breath, considering the murderous look on Ben's face and eerily calm rise and fall of his shoulders. Judging by what she could see from his side profile of Ben's reaction she couldn't help but feel responsible for opening up the can of worms in the first place.

"Enough," Leia affirmed, being stricter than before. She issued a halting hand to Han.

Han begrudgingly let the topic die on spot. A scowl displayed on his face as he grunted, acknowledging Leia's warning, using a bite of peanut butter and jelly sandwich to swallow his unspoken words.

Rey cast a wary glance at Ben, sitting tensely with his back straight along the chair's backside. Her eyes traveled down to his hands, seeing they were clenched in tight fists in his lap. She took a breath and placed a comforting hand on his forearm closest to her.

Ben blinked, recoiling from the former state of mind when he felt her unexpected touch. His focus pivoted from the estranged man who was his father to Rey. Seeing her then, was all Ben needed to allow all prior agitation subside and ease his muscles from the pent-up tension. He gave her a curt nod: enough to ensure Rey that she could retrieve her hand.

"So," Leia started, taking a seat next to Han that was across from Rey with her own lunch, "how are you liking the Hoosier state so far, Rey?"

Rey smiled, acknowledging the barely noticeable wink from Leia as the woman proceeded to dip a piece of celery into her veggie dip. Feeling thankful that the remainder of the meal took a turn towards the lighter end of topics, Rey provided Han and Leia with an overview of her life during and before coming to Mishawaka, leaving everything prior to her home with Maz a mystery.

As everyone wrapped up lunch, Rey helped Leia with primary clean-up, making sure to bid Han a farewell when he declared retreating to the sanction of his study somewhere deeper in the house.

"Listen kid," Han began, stumbling over his words, "it was very nice meeting you. There's a lot more to see of the property if you're not in a rush to leave."

Rey could hear the pride in Han's voice, mentioning the ranch. It was just like the initial perception she got from Ben whenever he talked about horses with her during the brief period before class. She smiled genuinely, reassuring him with a stolen glance to Ben when he left the kitchen.

"I think that's exactly what we planned to do."

Han nodded, pleased with her answer whilst giving Rey a cocked smile. She couldn't believe she never noticed the resemblance between father and son since Ben had the tendency to give her the same smile at times. It made her realize they were alike in so many ways as they were different. Leia assured Rey that she would escort them briefly, hinting at her own duties that needed to be tended to around the property before Rey joined Ben in the front foyer.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Ben murmured lowly, running a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh.

Rey smiled, reassuring him that she understood the earlier events that unfolded and led to the unavoidable argument with Han. Rey didn't ask, but she was definitely certain that Han's condition and his incense toward Kylo were connected. It only made the conversation with Ben, concerning Rey meeting his parents before their arrival seem more apparent.

"I would be ignorant if I admitted not understanding his worry," Rey spoke softly. "But I also trust that you wouldn't let that sort of harm come to me."

There was a sudden jolt in Ben's chest, precisely where his heart was located when Rey admitted to withholding so much confidence in him when it came to Kylo. No one had ever believed in him, at least, never having admitted to it as Rey had done. Ben parted his lips to reply, but his words were immediately discarded to the back of his thoughts when Leia finally joined them in company.

"I'm so glad that Ben decided to bring you today," Leia admitted, drawing Rey into a parting embrace.

Rey smiled over her shoulder, returning the gesture. "Me too," she replied, withdrawing from the hug.

"Are you coming back with Ben tomorrow?"

Ben took a breath, anxiously shoving his hands inside his jean pockets. After the encounter during lunch, he was certainly not expecting for Rey to want to come back even when she did try to reassure him earlier.

But, to his surprise – she did.


	9. Lessons In Riding

The morning after Rey's first visit to Solo-Skywalker Ranch appeared livelier. Other than the morning's chilly temperature with a gentle mist remaining from the rain that rolled in the night before, a hand full of students from surrounding county schools came to the plantation for equestrians to enjoy all that was left of their weekend. Some rode for pleasure while others practiced for pre-registered competitions taking place at the Free Fall County Fair, precisely the same week leading up to Rey's birthday.

Following Ben through the dining room's French doors to the back patio, brandishing a cup of freshly brewed coffee in one hand with a half-eaten snicker doodle in the other, Rey could barely hear the sound of a horse whinnying in protest to its master's command. She presumed the subtle dispute was coming from one of the three stallions seen in the riding arena upon their arrival earlier on.

Jango, Rex, and Cody: if she wanted to be precise.

Rex and Cody were two of the Solos' youngest stallions, which Rey remembered Ben introducing during the tour of the property the day before when the horses were grazing in their pasture. Cody was a russet-brown Morgan with a sandy-colored mane and tail. Rex looked exactly the same, aside from the white sock above his right back hoof with a temperament as equally mellow as its companion's.

Jango was a dark, stormy shade of grey with lighter hues speckled along his coat. Ben had made a comment then that Jango's personality compared greatly to the stallion's very distinguished appearance.

"That would be Jango," Ben grunted, confirming Rey's suspicion as if he had means to read her thoughts. "He can be an asshole and thinks he's his own boss at times."

Rey nodded at first, having taken a bite from the delicious sustenance moments prior to Ben talking. She chewed her food quickly, not wanting to give him an eye full of mashed-up food when she spoke. "I was just about to say," she admitted. "I remember you saying he had some spunk to him yesterday."

"I'd say 'having spunk' would be a bit of an understatement," Ben affirmed. "He's just an asshole."

"Kinda like how you said Kylo was a prick?" Rey remarked with a brow arched, taking a sip from her coffee.

"Kylo's reasons are valid for having trust issues – Jango's aren't. He just doesn't like someone being the boss of him. I applaud Tallie for putting up with him for as long as she has."

"Fair enough," Rey nodded, taking in the last bite of her cookie. Brushing her hand over the length of her shorts to rid of any sugar and crumbs left behind on her fingers, she proceeded to walk the short distance alongside Ben towards the barn. "Did you ever compete?" she asked, shoving her hand that wasn't holding the coffee cup inside her hoodie's front pouch.

Ben nodded, pushing both hands up to his knuckles into the front pockets of his jeans. "I did," he huffed. "Every year the fair came I competed at least four out of the six days it was in town. The days were long, but it was fun as hell. It sure beat staying in school at times."

"So, was it more for the competition or playing hooky and skipping classes?" Rey teased, cocking a sly smile up at him.

Ben snorted, scuffing the soles of his boots in the drenched turf. "Honestly? A little bit of both, I guess." He explained, giving Rey a once over. "I loved riding. I loved competing. My parents had to drag me in from the stalls during most school nights."

Rey eyed him thoughtfully, tapping her index finger idly against the cup's foam surface. "So how does someone who virtually lived, breathed and dreamed about horses decide to teach high school agriculture?"

Ben drew in a deep breath, grimacing as he looked to the barn's entrance ahead. "People change, right?"

Rey scoffed, fluttering her lashes in confusion. "That's quite the change, isn't it? You might as well start comparing apples to oranges."

"Not necessarily," Ben countered. "Equestrians fit right in with agricultural science. They're working class farm animals that happen to be useful for recreational purposes, also. I'd like to think I'm getting the best of both worlds."

Rey gave his profile a knowing look, not buying his multiple attempts of beating around the bush. Considering the amount of time she'd spent with Ben over the weekend, it wasn't hard to notice that his heart and passion never left the stable – or pasture pertaining to a certain black Morgan.

"Did you ever consider teaching lessons in riding?" Rey asked, attempting a different approach to obtaining answers about his life.

Ben sighed, conceding to acknowledge Rey's adhering gaze. "Once," he replied, voice heavy with emotion. "But shit happens and, unfortunately, people have to change."

Rey flattened her lips, forming a frown on her face. "Have to change?" She repeated, making sure that she heard him correctly.

"Rey," Ben uttered lowly, "I know you want to understand, but it's a lot more complicated than you think."

"Then, make it easy for me to understand," Rey affirmed, halting steadfast outside the barn's entrance with demand weighing heavily on her stare.

Ben paused, eyeing Rey assertively with his brows raised. "Let's talk about this later, okay? I may have planned for us to do something today that you wanted to do yesterday."

"Oh?" Rey asked; curiosity deterring her attention from the prior discussion.

Ben nodded, wearing a grin large enough to reveal the dimples hidden on his cheeks. "Kylo took to you a lot better than I thought he would've. I was wondering if you wanted to take him for a ride."

Rey gasped, widening her eyes to the size of Leia's dinner plates, her mouth being drawn agape. This wasn't just any horse, it was Ben's horse: the notoriously ill-mannered Kylo Ren would be the first horse she'd ever get to ride. But then, her cheerfulness over the notion ruefully turned to apprehension, remembering what happened during lunch the day before with Ben's father.

"What about your father?" Rey frowned, knitting her brows. "I don't want this to add more stress on your relationship with him."

Ben snorted wryly. "Trust me," he countered, showing her the way to the prep station inside the barn. "It can't get any worse than it is now."

A sigh escaped her lips, knowing there was more to the story than Ben was willing to shed any light upon. Rey let it slide (for now), concerning how she and Ben weren't the only ones in the stable that shared the same idea of what the day's activities would be.

"What's going on?" Ben called out, addressing the individual prepping her horse in the aisle outside a stall.

The young woman stole a look over her shoulder, following the direction of Ben's voice while blindly attempting to secure the back clasp of her horse's bridal. "I can't talk to you until I've had my coffee, Solo."

Ben grunted a laugh, removing Kylo's bridal hanging among other equestrian garments on the wall. "I forgot how much of a sparkling conversationalist you can be when you haven't had your caffeine."

"Fuck yeah! Starbucks was out of their caramel syrup. How in the hell does that happen?" She griped whilst facing the horse, making it appear that the animal was receiving the full brunt of her rant. "That's like McDonald's running out of their McNuggets!"

Rey lowered her chin, regarding the cup of coffee in her hand with a look of guilt. "Should we tell her that we drank the last of the coffee inside?"

Ben smirked, grabbing a saddle with his free hand. "Probably not, it might make her worse."

"Oh," Rey said shortly, worrying her bottom lip. "Is she a friend?"

"I better be a friend of yours," the other woman advised, glaring accusingly at Ben with arms folded across her slender frame as she approached. "I may be the only other person on this ranch that puts up with your moody ass on the weekends."

Ben scoffed, feigning offense. "Who are you calling 'moody'?"

The young woman rolled her eyes, shaking her head slightly prior to settling her sights on Rey, who had been standing by like an awkward third wheel amongst their banter. Her expression softened over her chiseled features, giving Rey a welcoming smile.

"I'm Sabine, by the way."

Rey took a moment to consider Sabine's electrifying appearance, noticeably tracing her eyes over the woman who seemed uncomfortably familiar with Ben. Her razor-cut hair was blackened at the roots, evolving in an ombre style of lavender and a vibrant shade of icy blue at the tips that came to her shoulders, offsetting the warmth of her brown eyes. Her black t-shirt with bolded grey Under Armour lettering and sleeves cropped below her shoulders revealed the stunning artwork of an owl tattoo on her bicep. Its feathers matched the color of her hair, having its tiny feet perched on a tree branch surrounded by fall-colored leaves that extended somewhere under her concealed shoulder and ending above her elbow.

If Rey had to be honest, Sabine was the prime example of a walking piece of human art. And Rey – she was wearing a boring pair of cut-off denim shorts with a crummy grey hoodie.

Rey put on a halfhearted smile, hoping it was convincing enough to hide her unwarranted jealousy corrupting the inside of her chest. "I'm Rey."

"Very nice to meet you, Rey," Sabine assured, widening her smile. "Can I steal her from you for a sec, Ben? I promise I'll give her back."

Rey shifted awkwardly on her soles, looking to Ben to see him nod an answer.

"That's fine." Ben nodded, agreeing. "I've gotta get saddled up anyways."

"I won't keep you waiting – for long, at least."

Ben snorted, regarding Sabine's comment with a smirk. His eyes flickered to Rey, frowning when he took notice of her unease. "Sabine is one of my oldest friends here," he assured softly, exerting warmth in hopes of easing her anxiety. "The worst that she could possibly do is attempt stealing your coffee."

"Hey, don't tempt me," Sabine warned, pointing a firm finger at Ben.

Rey laughed, feeling slightly more at ease. "I mean, I guess I won't need it here soon. I just took one sip if you want it."

"Oh, you're fine sweetie," Sabine ensured in a light protest, shrugging. "I'll survive, even though it feels like the sky is about to fall."

"Sabine can be a little dramatic sometimes," Ben commented to Rey, cocking a smile. "If you haven't already noticed."

"This is also coming from the renowned drama queen himself, Benjamin Solo." Sabine teased as Ben started walking away, making Rey laugh whilst nodding in agreement.

"Then again," Ben called over his shoulder to Rey, "perhaps I shouldn't leave you alone with her."

Sabine rolled her eyes, snickering at the remark. "I really do love giving him shit," she confessed to Rey. "It does him good."

Rey nodded, raising her cup slightly in accord. "I've noticed."

"How did you guys meet, anyways?" Sabine asked; turning to grab an English-style saddle from the display.

"Mutual friends," Rey lied, wrinkling her nose. She promptly attempted turning the tables, wanting to take the focus off her and Ben. "How about you?"

Sabine scoffed, tapping her thumb rapidly on the saddle's leather hide. "Interesting. Hey, can you grab one of those blankets down there?" She asked, completely ignoring the question and cocked her head to some saddle pads piled on a bench under the saddles.

Rey stared blankly, allowing the question to sink in momentarily. "Oh, um – yeah, any color preference?"

"Orange is fine," Sabine confirmed happily, tracing her steps back to the horse known as 'Chopper.'

Chopper had been one of the dozen horses Ben introduced during Rey's initial tour of the ranch, known as being the lone gelding with muddy-brown hair and a trail of white streaking from its mane to encompass his muzzle.

Rey tossed her foam cup into a nearby aluminum trash can, freeing her hands to become more useful and oblige Sabine with the pad that was pumpkin orange. "So, how long have you known Ben?" Rey repeated her question tentatively, waiting for the other woman to make a surprise statement as being an ex-lover of sorts. It shouldn't have mattered – no, not at all. But it did.

Sabine hummed thoughtfully, chewing her bottom lip and bending her waist slightly to drop the saddle on the ground with a hefty 'thud'. "Since I was in sixth grade. So, I guess roughly 9 years?" She finished, squinting her eyes and putting her hands on her hips. "I'm a junior at Purdue now."

"Wow," Rey scoffed, handing the blanket over to Sabine. "So, you guys never – you know…"

"Dated?" Sabine cocked a brow knowingly, snorting. "No, Ben's a good guy. But he's practically like my brother," she affirmed, turning to Chopper in time to miss Rey's shoulders fall loosely with relief. "I took lessons from Han for a little while. Ben and I were the only English riders – actually, we still are," she shrugged, taking a step back from Chopper to grab the saddle and put it over the pad on his back. "It was fun competing with him at the county fairs, and he was fucking good. He never should've quit."

Rey's ears perked, taking advantage of the newfound opening to question what happened. "Why did he?"

"Can you put a hand right here?" Sabine asked, patting the quilted pad under the saddle. "It likes to move on me."

Rey nodded, complying.

"Yeah, um," Sabine paused, distress etching the center of her knitted brows as she worked to secure Chopper's saddle. "Ben took his father's accident really hard. He doesn't talk about it much – not even to me. I was in school the time it happened, so I'm only going off the details that I pick up on occasionally. But all I know is that he dropped everything: show riding, training, everything."

Rey took the next few moments to carefully ponder a response, removing her hand when Sabine finished saddling Chopper. "When I met Han yesterday, I got the vibe that it had something to do with Kylo."

Sabine drew in a steady breath, looking at Rey while blindly reaching for her helmet hanging from an iron hitch outside a stall. "Kylo is a sore subject, yes," she confirmed, explaining. "They almost got rid of him after Han's accident, but, like I said, I don't know what happened. All I know is that no one messes with Kylo except Ben. Even Leia is hesitant with him."

Rey swallowed, jutting her chin slightly. "He was fine with me yesterday."

Sabine scoffed, looking dumbfounded as she fumbled with the helmet's clasp to the side. "Who? Kylo?"

Rey nodded, drawing a genuine look of surprise from Sabine that made her feel as if she were standing upon some invisible pedestal. However Rey was just as surprised to hear that a near life-long friend hadn't established such trust with the temperamental stallion, considering it had been a matter of seconds after Rey met him. "I pet him yesterday when Ben showed me around. He's gonna let me ride him here in a few."

Finished securing the clasp to her helmet Sabine folded her arms loosely over her chest, cocking her head to the side with a smirk. "I'd take that as an honor, then. It's almost as if…"

Rey held her breath, eyes fixed on Sabine's. "What?" She asked, apprehensive what Sabine would say.

Sabine shook her head, pivoting her hips to insert the toe of her riding boot into the saddle's stirrup, reaching a hand up to grip the saddle to steady her swaying. "Nothing. It was a pleasure meeting you, Rey. Will I see you around often, then?"

Rey considered her, a sincere smile peaking through her worried bottom lip. "I hope so."

Ben had just finished prepping Kylo when Rey joined him outside in the corral, emotions tethering a waltz between excitement for getting to ride a horse for the first time and nervous for not knowing what to expect. Ben assured her that riding a horse in a steady walk was as easy as riding a bike – only Kylo had a heartbeat and carried well over a thousand pounds to his figure.

However, seeing the horse decked out in his riding attire, standing so kingly in a proper show stance (for Rey no doubt) made her think back on the conversation with Sabine and how quickly Kylo bonded with her the day before. It was enough to make her swallow down the wave of nausea toying with her gut – for a moment, at least, before a new flourish rolled in to replace it.

"Okay," Ben declared in a breath, having made certain that the saddle was securely fastened. "I just need to get you a helmet and you're good to go."

Rey nodded, using a smile to disguise her worry despite Ben already knowing that she was nervous as hell. Perhaps he'd caught sight of her shaky hands before folding them over her chest with her arms.

"You're gonna do great," Ben coaxed. "I promise, I'll be right there with you."

"I know," Rey sighed, believing his words. "For the record, riding a bike was scary. I crashed a lot."

Ben chuckled, shaking his head. "You can't crash a horse, Rey. But if it makes you feel any better I can hold the reins."

Rey curled her bottom lip between her front teeth, hugging her torso. "But what if he freaks out? Horses are scared of mice, you know. And snakes – I hate snakes, also, so I wouldn't blame him."

"Now you're making excuses," Ben accused lightly, cocking his head aside. "But it's up to you. I won't force you to do anything that you're not comfortable with."

Rey frowned, eyes diverting between Ben and Kylo rapidly, settling on Ben in the end with a final verdict. "I know. And I want to."

"Are you sure?"

Rey nodded, taking a breath. "Yes," she smiled. "I'm sure."

Ben nodded, eyeing her dubiously to make sure she was certain, giving her the few moments pause to reconsider. "Okay," he replied, "I just need to grab you a helmet real quick. In case you crash," he winked.

Rey cocked her head, teasing him with a glare. "Not funny."

Ben snorted, stifling the laugh before making a quick jog back to the stable to retrieve a helmet. Rey heaved a sigh, turning to Kylo, who was attempting to nibble on a patch of grass where Ben had left him though such an easy task appeared to be more difficult with the bit in his mouth. Rey took a few apprehensive steps towards him. Squatting with her forearms resting on her thighs, she could hear the metallic bit of the bridal clanging against his molars as he grazed.

"You won't let me crash either, will you?" She asked softly, nearing a whisper.

Kylo's ears perked from the side to Rey's direction, attention piqued.

"I know you won't," she stated, heaving another sigh. "Ben's right, I am being ridiculous. You are my first though, you know that? So, go easy on me."

Kylo shook his head, causing the metal on his bridal to jingle along with the notion as if he were shooing away a batch of flies. Rey laughed, scrunching her nose, making the creases along her cheeks from the smile more prominent.

Ben returned quickly, holding the helmet in hand as promised. "Do you want to do the honors, or should I?"

Rey rose from her former position, regarding him for a moment. "You can," she stated. "Who knows, I may incompetently screw that up, too."

"You're being way too hard on yourself." Ben affirmed gruffly, settling the helmet in place. The first knuckle on two fingers skimmed her cheeks as he fastened the clasp, streaming along the upper curvature of her jaw as he attempted to tighten the strap to fit properly. Rey only hoped that Ben hadn't noticed (or felt) the warmth of her flushed cheeks in the process. Or heard the subtle hitch in her breath, having to feel him touch her so tenderly.

"Is that too tight?" He asked, creasing his brows at the center.

Rey shook her head. "No, it's fine."

"Okay," he said, taking a single step back to make sure the helmet wasn't crooked. He gave her a smile, satisfied. "Are you ready?"

Rey took in another breath, nodding. "I think so."

Ben nodded, reassured to proceed showing her how to mount a horse; which he did, and Rey was certain that she was bound to fuck that up, too. Kylo stood steadfast, patient and unwavering from his spot while Rey drew her left foot through the stirrup, using her other leg to unsuccessfully launch her body weight up. Ben remained behind her, watching and chiding himself not to step in. He could've just went to the barn and found a stool, like the other vertically-challenged riders used.

Instead, his hands somehow found their way to her waist after Rey tried multiple failed attempts to get her ass onto the saddle, causing her to pause on the spot.

"On three," he instructed. The hoarse sound of his voice spoke indirectly to her ear due to the significant difference in height. Rey could feel the heat of his touch radiating from his large hands that nearly engulfed her hips, even through the thick fleece of her sweater. She closed her eyes, nodding her answer whilst trying to focus on the task, and not on the newfound wave of tingling emotions that weren't caused by the pre-riding nerves.

Ben counted down. His fingers tightening their grip on three and hoisted her skyward to Kylo's back with a grunt. After Ben withdrew his hands, Rey swung her leg to the other side, allowing her foot to successfully find its way to the other stirrup. It took a moment for her mind to wholly process all that happened within a matter of seconds: the memory of what it felt like to have Ben's hands on her to being very, very high off the ground. Everything was equally exhilarating as much as it was terrifying.

Except – that memory of those hands, gripping her and raising her with such effortless ease, never went away.

"Oh my god!" Rey cried out, exerting a laugh in regards to reclaimed pride whilst concealing her inner quarrel. "I did it! Oh god, this is amazing."

"I told you," Ben affirmed, cracking a smile to bury his own inner mayhem about how weak Rey was starting to make him.

Why did he insist that touching her – no, helping her (for lack of better terms) in that way would be a good idea? It didn't help that Ben was reprising his role as Rey's teacher in the process.

"Hang on here," he instructed, gesturing a nervous hand to the tree-like object sprouting at the front of the saddle. "I'll lead with the reins."

Rey took a deep breath, talking herself down from cloud nine to competently do what Ben just asked of her. Everything wound up as a blur in the past when Kylo started to move, giving Rey something new yet, also, terrifying to focus on rather than the former. However, that feeling of having her stomach lurch to her chest quickly subsided to its initial resting place even though Kylo's movement was slow and steady.

Allowing Ben to do the work of leading Kylo around the pasture, Rey took the opportunity to engrave every thought and feeling into her memory. She could feel the coarse texture of his hair brushing against the bare skin of her knees to her calves. She could also feel his power, lying beneath that outer layer coated in darkness were muscles that could easily crush her if he wanted to. Over time, Kylo's movements became her own: each hip rising and falling and swaying in unison with every step of his hind leg.

For better descriptive aspects: it felt like they were walking as one living individual instead of two.

Ben would occasionally glance over his shoulder, stealing a glimpse at the look of sheer bliss on Rey's face. There were several moments where he considered breaking the soothing sound of horse hooves clumping heavily over the turf to ask how she was doing. Then, his attention would swivel back to Kylo, appearing to be more content than he ever looked while simply grazing the field like any of the other horses did.

In all honesty, Ben couldn't decide which of the two were more disappointed when the late morning to early afternoon leisure stroll came to an end for him and Rey to grab a late lunch.

Climbing down from the horse proved to be a much simpler task to accomplish for Rey. She took Ben's hand when he offered it to her, helping her steady her footing after coming in contact with solid ground. Oddly enough Rey felt like she was still riding, swaying in what felt like a momentary lapse into vertigo even though she was standing in place.

"And no snakes or mice," Ben teased, releasing her hand to tend to the clasp on her helmet.

Rey laughed, mocking her needless fret from earlier on. "Do you think I could take the reins next time?" She asked, her voice sounding hopeful. Holding her chin high to accommodate Ben's height over hers, Rey looked at him with imploring eyes, which insisted they study every feature on his face that she hadn't noticed before.

Ben's ridiculously long eyelashes grazed over his cheeks when he blinked, seeing Rey staring at him with eyes beseeching and – harboring something else behind them that he'd never noticed before. Like a thief in mid-day, every ounce of breath was immediately stolen from their lungs, enabling Rey's lips to part slightly and Ben unable to speak. The gentle breeze of the outdoors suddenly felt heavier, bringing on a new sort of tension that neither could be sure if they wanted to explore.

Ben swallowed heavily, causing his Adam's apple to bob while his hands failed to complete such an easy task as if his brain had a momentary malfunction. The hand opposite of the one gripping Rey's helmet fastener fell to his side, leaving the other. Before his mind could retract what his body wanted to do, Ben ghosted his thumb along her cheek in a gentle caress.

The tempo of their heartbeats sped rapidly in sync, easily tuning out the world around them like they were the only ones holding existence on Earth. Rey could feel her muscles spasm in a brief shudder, acknowledging the feeling of his extended fingers coming in contact with the tiny hairs at the base of her hairline that protruded the bottom of her helmet. It tickled a little, truly. If Rey hadn't been so focused on his lush lips she would've made the effort to laugh, or twitch or react accordingly to push his hand away from continuing what should've been an annoying act in general.

But she didn't.

Instead, Rey put her hand on his, settling her fingers among the uneven spaces between Ben's. It wasn't much of a gesture, but it had been enough to ease any doubt from his thoughts that Rey wanted him as much as he wanted her. They couldn't recall the exact minute or hour that it happened, but what they could admit was that the weekend had fundamentally changed them – for better and for worse. So much that Ben would've lowered his head further to meet her lips if it hadn't been for Kylo's obnoxious snort.

The unanticipated sound promptly caused their hands to retreat, the top of Ben's hand rubbing the palm of Rey's at the notion as they acknowledged Kylo, standing oblivious in regards to what he'd inadvertently interrupted.

Rey sighed, regaining her composure as she looked to Ben. She laughed along with Ben, clearing his throat to break the awkward tension lingering within the small space that divided them.

"I'll um – I'll put this away real quick," Rey assured, drawing her bottom lip with an incisor while her words regarded the helmet.

Ben nodded, taking a deep breath as his lungs refilled with air. He watched her leave, silently pondering what had just occurred. What was becoming of him? Or better yet, what would've happened if Kylo hadn't interrupted the moment that neither intended stopping?

As if the horse could sense his distress, the fleeting breeze of Kylo swishing his tail captured Ben's attention. Ben blinked, his head turning from the barn door that Rey had disappeared through to see the horse's face staring questionably at him.

A sidelong smirk rendered his face distorted as Ben reassured his companion, gently patting Kylo on the side. "Secret's out I guess," Ben admitted through a heavy sigh. "I like her – and I shouldn't."

Rey tried not to think about that potential 'first kiss' during lunch – if she wanted to call it that. However as much as she wanted to imagine how it would've felt having Ben's lips on hers, she didn't want to jeopardize accidentally telling Han and Leia about Kylo. Considering Han nearly blew a circuit after telling him about petting Kylo, Rey didn't want to think what would happen if she'd told him Ben allowed her to ride the horse Han apparently detested.

Thankfully, the topic of riding horses changed for the overall good when Leia brought up their ranch's annual hay rides for the public.

"What are those?" Rey asked to no one in particular, disregarding the embarrassment flaming her cheeks since she had no clue what it all entailed. Alas, such as the life of a girl always having to grow up far from the urban life.

"We fill a wagon with hay and hitch up a couple horses to pull people around," Ben explained, picking up a half of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "It's a good time, especially for those looking to relax after competing during fair week."

Rey nodded, pinning the day in her thoughts (based on Ben's information) as the same weekend of her birthday.

"Actually, Rey," Leia stated with a glance to her side at Han, "I was thinking it would be nice to have an extra set of hands to help out around here. Especially on that day when it's busier than normal riding season."

Rey paused mid-chew, having just taken a bite from a piece of sliced apple. Slowly, allowing the woman's words to sink in, her eyes widened as she realized what Leia was asking. "Are you offering me a job?"

Leia nodded, wearing a smile that blatantly confirmed her answer before she spoke. "I am. The pay isn't much, but we could sure use the extra help around here – with Han and all."

Rey was stunned to answer, at first. The topic of getting a part-time job on the weekend had been brought up on occasion between her and Maz, but definitely never considered getting to work on a ranch – with Ben.

Rey happily accepted their offer, nodding a bit more excessive than needed though it was certainly hard to contain her excitement.

"Perfect," Leia affirmed, casting a sharp look towards her son. "I'm certain Ben could fill you in on the details before then."

Ben nodded, agreeing, though he didn't need to be coaxed into taking advantage of spending more time with Rey. As much as he enjoyed being around her, his only fear now lay with the fact of losing control – again. Ultimately, he wondered if he'd have the strength to stop on his own should it ever happen without interruptions.

Ben's thoughts must've been loud enough to hear. At least, for Rey as she looked at him like he'd admitted out loud to everything that happened. Giving her a guarded look, the twitch at the corner of his mouth betrayed his thoughts as Rey brushed the side of her pinky over his.

Rey kept her hand next to his on the table, casually taking another bite from her sandwich.


	10. Confessions

"There you are!" Rose cried, finding Rey rising upon her tiptoes to place a textbook on her locker's top shelf. "Where did you disappear to Friday night?"

Rey turned her head, following the sound of her friend's voice she searched through the mass of bodies flooding the hallway over third hour's passing period. Still having the weekend's events with Ben on her mind Rey hadn't considered any explanation to the questions her friends might have, regarding why she had left Poe's party so quickly that Friday night – or who she had left with.

Fuck! How could she have forgotten?

"Oh – hey Rose," Rey muttered, seeming apologetic when Rose finally appeared. She smiled, hoping it would be enough to hide the unsteadiness in her voice while scrounging up a believable alibi. "Yeah, sorry," she stammered, lying through her teeth. "I started to feel a little woozy there after our game. First time drinking alcohol and all…"

Well, it wasn't that much of a lie. The thought of kissing Poe did leave her feeling a little nauseous afterwards.

"Why didn't you just say something?" Rose asked, looking quizzical. "I could've taken you home."

"I know," Rey replied, sighing as she grabbed the textbook for Agricultural Science. "I didn't want to be the Debbie downer of your fun."

"Don't be ridiculous," Rose snipped defensively. "I'm your friend! Wait –," she paused, creasing her brows when realization set in, "how did you get home?"

"I –," Rey started instinctively, only to realize that she couldn't say what every neuron in her brain wanted to admit. Frowning, her eyes shifted over the locker's interior, searching for another excuse that wouldn't endanger her feeble relationship with Ben. "I called a cab," she admitted, voice remaining steady in hopes that Rose would buy into the little white lie.

Did they even have cabs here in Mishawaka?

"Oh," Rose replied frankly, bearing a wounded expression. "Still, you should've just said something. It would've saved you the change needed to get home."

"It wasn't that big of a deal, really," Rey confessed, shrugging. Slamming the door to her locker closed single-handedly while the other remained occupied with textbooks and trapper keeper, she turned to accompany Rose through the hall. "Besides," she teased, "there's no way you were fit to drive either of us home."

"Fuck, true story," Rose whimpered. "I had to call my sister at two in the morning to come pick me up."

Rey chuckled, "I bet that went well."

"Let's just say it took a great deal of convincing for her to not tell our parents," Rose explained, unenthused. "She didn't have much room to talk though, considering she's the one that bought us the alcohol."

Rey winced, regarding the meticulous bottle of booze and the unwelcome memories it triggered. "Did – Poe happen to mention anything to you about that night?" She asked timidly.

Rose pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes in thought. "Um – No, at least I don't think so?" She replied tentatively, raising her chin enough to look at Rey. "Why? Did something happen?"

Rey nodded, apprehensive. "He may have made a brash move on me."

Rose blinked, drawing her mouth agape with surprise. "When did this happen?"

"Right after the 'never have I ever' game," Rey replied tediously, rolling her eyes. "He just tried to kiss me is all."

"Well, that's a relief!" Rose affirmed, widening her eyes along with lifted brows. "I mean, I'm glad that it was nothing more serious. So, it was you that poured the beer over his head?"

Rey snickered at the memory, nodding. "Yes, but it wasBoones Farm. Not beer."

"What!" Rose gasped, voice raising an octave. "I'm sorry, I love you, but you couldn't have just grabbed the beer from his hand or something?"

"It was on impulse!" Rey countered, laughing. "I wasn't exactly thinking about alcohol while having his fucking lips come at me."

"Oh – I'm not mad at you," Rose corrected, pointing a finger dramatically at Rey whilst maintaining a tight grip on her books pressed against her chest. "But I will fucking kill Dameron for making you waste a perfectly good bottle of Boones Farm on his head."

"And I won't stop you," Rey promised, scrunching her nose. "Honestly, though, the party scene just wasn't for me."

"It's no biggie," Rose reassured, shrugging. "I suppose it would be a good idea for me to lay low for awhile as well. Hangovers fucking suck."

"I wouldn't know."

"Well, I can speak for us both when I say that hangovers fucking suck."

Rey laughed as they rounded the corner of the hall, elbows nudging sternums and biceps belonging to the new swell of bodies in the crowd.

"So," Rose added, "I hope Poe being a douche didn't ruin the rest of your weekend?"

"No," Rey replied, smiling wistfully. Biting back the urge to tell Rose about her weekend with Ben (and the horses) was proving itself harder than she thought it would be. "I can honestly say that I can't complain."

"Oh?" Rose quirked a brow, curiosity piqued. "What did you do?"

Rey shrugged, readying another fib to add to the growing list of lies prior to hearing someone calling her name from the mass of students behind herself and Rose. Looking over her shoulder, she frowned when she saw Poe, appearing to be dead set on a mission to reach her as he pushed through the crowd with determined ease.

"Great," Rey grumbled aloud, pivoting her head around to see Rose exerting a look that appeared equally annoyed as hers.

"We can just keep walking," Rose offered, acknowledging Rey's discomfort. "Just pretend that you couldn't hear him or something."

"Rey!" Poe called out, heaving a sigh in relief when he finally caught up to her side opposite of Rose. "Rey, can we talk?"

"She doesn't want to talk to you, Dameron," Rose spat, glaring at him from behind Rey's back. "And neither do I. You made her waste a perfectly good bottle of my Boones!"

"This isn't about fucking Boones Farm, Tico," Poe growled. "I need to talk to Rey."

Rey rolled her eyes, jaw set as she paused in the middle of the hallway to face him. "Can it wait?" Rey asked, standing impatiently with a knee bent. "I need to get to my next class. I'm going to be late."

"Then let me walk you there," Poe offered, remaining undeterred.

Rey grimaced, scoffing. Why couldn't Poe just take the hint that she didn't want to talk to him? It was the only time she could talk to Ben during school, literally two minutes tops before class started and was quickly ticking down to the passing period's very last second – and all of it being wasted from having to argue with Poe.

"This seriously can't wait until lunch?" Rey demanded, taking a breath. "It's Agriculture, clear across the school from your class, Poe."

Poe remained steadfast, flexing his jaw. It was enough to get the point across that he clearly wasn't willing to settle with 'no' for an answer. Typical. Rey sighed, considering the only beneficial reason to have Poe walk with her was the fact that she could be on her way to have those few extra moments with Ben – finally.

"Fine," she agreed sharply, turning to see an apologetic look on Rose's face.

"Are you sure?" Rose asked; worry etched between her brows. "I can take a tardy and walk with you."

"I'll be fine," Rey assured, smiling with a nod. "I'll see you at lunch."

Rose nodded, conceding to Rey's request. Her eyes narrowed, casting a final glare at Poe before begrudgingly leaving her friend behind.

"I take it that you told Tico about the incident at the party," Poe accused, jutting his chin toward Rose.

"And why wouldn't I?" Rey retorted, glowering whilst taking a step to lead the way towards the hallway for Agriculture.

Poe heaved a sigh, striding alongside Rey silently for a long awkward moment, hand free of books shoved into a jean pocket. "Look Rey," he started, expression exerting distress, "I'm sorry for how I acted. I had no right."

Rey snorted; face rigid prior to the smirk stretching her face. "That's nice. Did you rehearse that over the weekend?"

Poe pursed his lips. "No," he admitted tersely, casting a sheepish look in her direction. "I was actually hoping it would be enough for you to forgive me."

Rey halted her stride, waist pivoting to issue Poe an accusatory look as they stood in the center of the Ag hall. "You tried to kiss me," she sneered, heavily enunciating her words while attempting to explain. "After I told you 'no.' Do you really expect me to forgive you that fast?"

"For Christ sakes I was drunk," Poe barked defensively, squaring his shoulders. "I didn't know what the hell I was doing."

"That has to be the worst excuse I've ever heard."

"Well, it's the truth," Poe affirmed, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. "Look, Rey," he sighed, licking his lips. "I'm not use to girls turning me away so quickly. You surprise me and I still don't know what to make of it."

Rey considered him, expression softening. "Did it ever occur to you that I don't like you in that sort of way?"

"Then let me make it up to you," Poe urged, eyes fixed on hers. "Let me take you out just one time – as friends, even."

Rey heaved a sigh, eyeing him warily. "Why can't you just buy me a pack of pop tarts from the snack stand in the commons?" She countered, flexing her grip on the books hugging her chest. "Then maybe I'll consider forgiving you."

Poe snorted, cocking a brow, "Seriously?"

Rey nodded, swallowing heavily. "If you're serious about us being just friends," she explained, "then yes. I like the s'more ones, also."

Poe regarded her offer, head cocked slightly. "Can you tell me one more thing?" He asked, eyes imploring. "And I promise I'll buy you that pack of pop tarts."

Rey nodded, drawing a sharp breath, "Sure."

"Is there someone else?"

Settling back into the mind frame as Mr. Solo after a weekend at the ranch was never an easy task. Having to throw in what happened with Rey during that split second of losing self-control made it that much harder to forget that she was also his student. Looking at her name listed on the roster among the other dozen names of students Ben had to face that day was nothing more than a bitter wake-up call, serving its purpose as a reminder that he shouldn't have wanted to kiss her.

But, he did. So much he had spent the remnants of that evening into the wee morning hours of the following school day lecturing himself, prepping for that moment when Rey would show her face two minutes early before class like she always did. The first three periods of the day were torture, having nearly worn a path along the front of the first few rows of desks while pacing throughout the first few hours instructing his students.

When that fourth hour came Ben considered himself better prepared to keep his shit under wraps, until he heard that familiar sweet song of Rey's voice reverberating down his classroom's empty hallway. A warm feeling inflated the inside of his chest, bringing on a newfound emotion he'd never felt that made the overall wait to see Rey walk through his classroom's doorway more agonizing. That was, of course, until he realized that Rey was talking to someone else: the distinct sound of another male student's voice following hers in conversation.

The sound of silence in his private sector of the school allowed Ben to easily hear their conversation without eavesdropping on purpose. Despite whom it was that Rey was talking to, Ben couldn't decide which was harder to come to terms with in his thoughts: that someone closer to her age would eventually ask her out and she would accept, or that Rey willingly turned away a shot at having a normal student life in hopes of pursuing the impossible with her teacher.

He tried to act normal when Rey finally walked in, smiling and greeting her in the manner that Ben always did. However, considering the amount of time they'd spent together over the weekend it must've been obvious to Rey that something was bothering him. The conflict was blatantly written all over his face and she was already on his case before Ben had the chance to hide it.

"Have the Monday blues struck you as well?" Rey stated observantly, arms hugging her chest after setting her books down onto the desk.

"Something like that," Ben admitted gruffly. Tongue toying the inside of his cheek, he watched her slowly make her way from her desk to where Ben was standing in front of his. Palms and hips firmly pressed into the edge of his desk, he stood with one knee slightly bent to the side with the other held straight for support.

"I could tell you about my day so far," she informed, smiling hopefully. "It may cheer you up a little bit."

"Oh yeah?" Ben asked, playing along to lighten the mood, "And how's that?"

"It's kinda stupid, really," Rey confessed, face growing serious. "But just so you know, your parents' horse barn was overrun by a herd of purple mutated hamsters last night."

The look on Ben's face was priceless; giving Rey a bewildered look that even made her begin to wonder if she was slowly starting to lose her sanity. He stared at her for a long moment, wondering if he'd heard her correctly before acknowledging the strange confession with a laugh. "Where in the hell did that come from?"

Breaking her grave appearance, Rey laughed along with him, exerting an embarrassing snort as she attempted to catch her breath within the momentary fit of laughter. "It was a dream that had me waking up in panic at 4:00 this morning. Then, I couldn't get back to sleep because I kept hearing my hamster's wheel banging against his cage. I was too lazy to get up and fix it so I suffered the remaining two hours with no sleep."

Ben's laughter seceded to a lighter amused chuckle, shaking his head. "Were there any casualties? Or do I dare to even want to know?"

Rey nodded, feigning melancholy, "Unfortunately, yes, hamsters and horses don't go well together. There were eyeballs popping out, fur exploding like puffs of dandelions – it was a mess."

"Jesus," Ben laughed, forgetting for a second that he'd been having an internal war all morning.

"So," Rey started, regaining her composure after rendering her stomach muscles into tight knots from laughing. "Did that cure you of the blues at all?"

Ben slowly felt the smile on his lips fade to a frown, inadvertently leading to Rey mimicking his expression. He shifted the weight on his feet, lowering all focus to the speckled-tile flooring that seemed a whole lot easier to look at than having to watch her smile die because of his – jealousy? Well, whatever it was, the twitch of a nerve below his eyes was enough to fuel his frustration more.

"Ben," Rey coaxed gently, worry tinting her voice. "What's wrong?"

"Rey, I have no right to ask you this, but I have to know." Ben uttered heavily, knuckles turning white from maintaining too tight of a grip on the desk's edge. Shame covered his face as he began walking that invisible line, leading him far past redemption.

"Where do I stand with you?"

Rey blinked, hindered to being at a momentary loss for words from not anticipating the question. She took a breath, steadying her thoughts. "Isn't it obvious?"

Ben lifted his eyes, seeing Rey's exploiting sincere warmth, expression soft and tender as she closed the short yet seemingly long distance that was between them. If Ben wanted to, all he had to do was lean over ever so slightly and his fate would be forever sealed by the touch of her lips. His eyes trailed over her face, greedily taking in every freckle and blemish that dappled her face before the bell's final ring marked the beginning of class.

"I just want you to be sure," Ben grimaced, lowering his eyes briefly to her lips. "I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. You make me feel and act in ways that I shouldn't be right now."

Rey smiled, lips curling slightly at the corners. "If it's any consolation," she whispered, eyes devouring his, "I don't know what I'm doing either."

"So what do you propose that we should do?" Ben asked, swallowing thickly. "This could be dangerous for both of us."

Rey cocked her head, pondering an answer, bottom lip drawn between her teeth. "I say we take it one day at a time and go from there."

Ben smiled, agreeing with a subtle nod. Drawing in a shallow breath he raised a hand to give attention to the curl coming loose from Rey's messy bun, coaxing it behind her ear. Every muscle in his torso cringed at the sound of obnoxious chatter coming from down the hall, alerting them that class was about to start.

"Just so you know," Ben confessed within a sigh, "horses are much easier to work with."

Rey snickered, pivoting on her heal to claim her seat in time before the first pair of Ag students walked in.

"A job –," Maz repeated, sounding genuinely surprised, "at a ranch? Do they know that the only pet you've ever had is a hamster?"

"Believe me, I was just as surprised as you are," Rey snorted, reaching into the laundry basket for one of Maz's scrub shirts to fold. "But they are short-handed, so I guess they're desperate for help?"

Maz shook her head at the wash cloth she was folding, still trying to comprehend her niece's words. "Are you hearing yourself right now, Rey? It's a farm. There's dirt, which means you'll get your hands dirty – and sweat among other places."

"Yes, I'm well aware of the things that I'll be entailed to do while working there," Rey clarified, placing the folded shirt onto Maz's designated pile of clothes stacked neatly on the carpet of their living room. "Plus, the family is very nice," she explained, looking up at Maz seated on the couch from her cross-legged position on the floor. "And they don't let me starve."

Maz smirked, snorting her answer at first. "Well, that explains just about everything. As long as there's food you'll always be content no matter where you are," she teased. "So, how did you find out about this – Solo Ranch?"

"I told you," Rey affirmed, eyes fixed on Maz, "a friend from school mentioned going there for lessons and I got curious. She invited me, so," she shrugged, "I tagged along."

It wasn't –a complete lie, in theory. Ben was a friend and he was from school and, also, happened to be a 'he' instead of a 'she.' If her aunt decided to get overly privy, Rey was prepared to throw in Sabine's name for emergency back-up support. Luckily, Maz appeared to be too exhausted from another long day at the hospital to press further on the topic. It was one less fib Rey had to add onto the already budding pile of lies.

"I see," Maz stated, setting aside the folded pair of scrub pants to focus her attention on Rey for the moment, hands planted on her knees. "What days do you suppose you'll be working? I'll have Wednesdays off starting next week if you want to take the car. You'll just have to find another way to get there any other time if they're willing to work with your schedule."

"They didn't seem too concerned about my schedule," Rey shrugged, seeming optimistic about her reply. "So, I don't think it'll be too much of a problem for them. One of the other staff members lives near us and offered to give me a ride whenever he goes."

"Which would be – when?" Maz countered. "And who is this 'he' that you speak of?"

"Ben," Rey replied, swallowing a little while attempting to remain casual. "He goes Friday through Sunday, usually, but he's close with the family so I imagine he would go whenever I'm needed to work."

Again, it wasn't a lie if Rey purposely left out the fact that it was Ben's family who owned the ranch in question.

Maz gave her a long look, brow arched. "Huh," she grunted. Casting a glance into the laundry basket, she pulled out a very familiar plaid shirt buried beneath the other articles of clothing for Rey to see. A knowing look encompassed the older woman's features, regarding the doe-eyed reaction the garment extracted from Rey. "This wouldn't happen to be Ben's shirt, would it?"

Rey's hands grew restless in her lap as she studied the shirt, recalling the reason she'd acquired it to begin with. "There was a mishap with one of the horses," she explained. "I was helping Ben give one a bath and it kinda got a hold of the hose. I got drenched and he was kind enough to lend me a shirt."

Maz nodded curtly, appearing satisfied with the explanation. "Well, that was very nice of him," she remarked, giving the plaid garment a once over before relinquishing it for Rey to fold. "Only a gentleman would give a girl their shirt after receiving an old fashion hose-down. He mustn't be a high schooler, then?"

Rey worried the collar of the shirt between her fingers, sneaking a cautious glimpse at Maz through her lashes. "No," she sniffed, feeling proud for answering the last few questions truthfully. "He's a little older."

"How much older are we talking?" Maz countered, eyeing her niece with a judgmental look.

"I can't be too certain," Rey fibbed, but only a little as she raised her head to give Maz her undivided attention. "I just know that he's in his 20's."

"Huh," Maz hummed, appearing to be satisfied. "Well, I'm okay with you working as long as your grades don't suffer."

Rey gave her aunt a toothy grin, conceding to Maz's request with a nod, "I promise."

"So," Maz started, reaching for another article of clothing from the basket, "tell me a little more about this Ben fellow. Should I be worried?"

Rey rolled her eyes, sighing. She left out the incriminating details about Ben, enlightening her aunt more on the important things like his fiery love for horses – especially, Kylo. She bragged about how well she did during her first lesson in riding; more so being with a horse that harbored such an ill-tempered personality. She told Maz about Sabine, and provided a little more information about Han and Leia.

After helping Maz finish up with the laundry folding, Rey reverted to hiding out in her bedroom for the remainder of the evening. For study purposes, of course, considering the math teacher found it appropriate to pile the load on a Monday while Rey suffered a moderate case of sleep deprivation.

"I blame it on your purple cousins," she told Bee-Bee, glaring at him accusingly before placing him in the exercise ball like she always did while doing homework.

Foregoing the usual choice of relaxing in a worn t-shirt and hoodie that night, Rey pulled on a pair of knitted grey shorts with Ben's plaid shirt, leaving it unbuttoned right above her cleavage with the sleeve cuffs rolled slightly above her wrists. It wasn't the same not having the distinct scent of masculine hygiene, but it was Ben's. She wondered what he would say if he saw her in it for comfort, rather than a means of covering up Kylo's mishap.

Settling onto her bed, having one foot drawn inward with the other leg stretched diagonally across the coverlet, Rey made it a priority before homework to snap a photo of herself for Ben. She went through a series of different poses: funny duck face, serious duck face, pouty lips, eyes-crossed with a ridiculous jarred-looking mouth to make it even more ridiculously immature than it already looked. Finally, she decided to go for an innocent smile with bedroom eyes while her hair hung loosely over her shoulders, nibbling on a thumbnail as a little added extra.

Nearly more than an hour came and went by before she heard the anticipated ding of an instant message on her phone, bringing forth a wicked grin from Rey when she saw who it was from.

 **– Ben Solo –** I know that shirtI wonder who gave it to you ;)

 **– Rey Kanata –** YeahSome asshole got me a little wet at a farmSo I kinda stole it from this guy nearby

 **– Ben Solo –** Is that so?A little rude to be stealing clothes off random people

 **– Rey Kanata –** LolVery funny :PDo you like it?

"Fuck, if you only knew," Ben growled at his phone.

The last thing he expected to see was a photo of Rey pop-up on his phone screen, wearing his shirt and unbuttoned dangerously low for his mind to wonder off in dark places. It took every ounce of willpower to keep the initial reaction in his pants to the most minuscule.

 **– Ben Solo –** 10/10

"Good," Rey muttered out loud, grinning slyly.

 **– Rey Kanata –** How was your day?

 **– Ben Solo –** DecentOnce the Monday blues were goneYou?

 **– Rey Kanata –** SameThere's a hamster running around my roomIt appears my dream missed one

 **– Ben Solo –** LolI….will not comment

 **– Rey Kanata –** :D ActuallyI talked to my aunt about working for your parents

 **– Ben Solo –** Oh?What did she say?

 **– Rey Kanata –** Wednesdays and Friday-Sunday appear to be the verdictAs long as my grades stay up

 **– Ben Solo –** Wednesdays, huh?

Rey nodded at her screen, smiling at the fact that she would have that extra time with Ben outside of school. Well, only if it worked for his schedule that is…

 **– Rey Kanata –** Yeah, only if it works for you thoughAnd if your parents need the help

 **– Ben Solo –** I don't doubt that they willI'm sure the extra day with another set of hands would be appreciated

 **– Rey Kanata –** GoodI miss that pony of yours

 **– Ben Solo –** I think Kylo would be insulted if he knew you called him a pony

 **– Rey Kanata –** LolI'll try to remember not to call it to his face ;)

 **– Ben Solo –** RegardlessI'm sure he would love to see you more often

 **– Rey Kanata –** SameAnywhoMy trig won't finish itself unfortunately :(

 **– Ben Solo –** Get some sleep as wellI would hate to put you in detention for falling asleep in class

"And that's supposed to be a bad thing?" Rey joked, considering every detention was held in the classroom by the teacher issuing the punishment.

 **– Rey Kanata –** Yes, that would be tragic.Good night Ben 3


	11. In Sickness and In Health

"Okay, I think that's the last of it," Maz sighed, acknowledging the sound of her niece's feet shuffling over the living room's carpet before Rey entered the kitchen. Cupping a hand over her cheek, her eyes shifted over the contents in the travel bag for a final inspection prior to closing it up. "Hopefully I'm not forgetting anything."

"At least it's just for the four days this time, right?" Rey sniffed, her voice laden with fatigue as she advanced straight to the fridge. Reaching for the half gallon of orange juice that was snuggled between the syrup bottle and coffee creamer on the refrigerator door bottom shelf, she continued to add for Maz's reassurance, "And you'll be at the seminar for the most part, anyways."

Maz nodded, "Yes, but I'm talking about the numerous times that I've forgotten prescriptions, shirts – underwear."

Rey snorted loudly, though the act made her wince in reaction to the sharp sting from the sore throat she'd woken up to. She'd been in a slight daze the entire day before, exerting a sniffle here and there with a scratchy throat. Now, the pain was ten times worse after taking a sip from the small glass of pulp-free vitamin C that the content had been poured into, rendering a concerned gaze from Maz as she looked to her niece from the bag on the dining room table top.

"Are you alright there, kiddo?" Maz asked, her furrowed brows triggering a genuine look of concern to spread over her features.

Rey nodded, grimacing, "Just a little sore throat is all. I'm sure it'll pass."

"Huh," Maz hummed, pressing a forefinger knuckle to her lips in thought. "Do you have a lot of drainage? Or a fever?"

Rey shook her head, regarding the latter half of the question. She did wake up to some chills that morning, but quickly blamed it on the fact that Maz refused to turn the heat on even though the evening temperatures had been dropping into the mid 30s. And Rey might have stubbornly worn a tank top with a pair of cherry-garnished sleep pants the night before, so being a little chilled was certainly to be expected.

Plus, she and Ben had discussed going to the ranch later after school. No school meant not going to the ranch, and not going to either meant not getting to see Ben. Which for Rey, it wasn't an option, considering if she was on her deathbed she would've crawled to school if it meant getting to see him.

"Yes, and no – to the fever that is," Rey affirmed, shrugging. "It could just be allergies though, I guess?"

"True," Maz agreed with a curt nod. "You've been spending a lot of time in the countryside as of late. It could just be that you're not use to getting so much open fresh air. Plus, it's the beginning of harvest season. You could be allergic to whatever is floating around in the air at this moment."

Rey nodded, abruptly inhaling a sniff, "I'll just eat some oatmeal or something. Maybe it'll help my throat."

"That may be a wise choice," Maz concurred as she heaved the zipper up on the travel bag. She paused, hands settling over the bag's closure as she contemplated a certain notion in a brief moment of silence. "Do you want me to stay home?" she asked tediously. "Just in case?"

"Don't be silly," Rey called from over her shoulder. Her voice sounded strained as she rose up on her tiptoes, hand extended high above her head to reach the box of oatmeal packets placed at the back of the cupboard's top shelf while the other steadied her balance on the counter top. "You've been planning this trip to Maryland for months. There's no way I'm asking you to stay home because of a silly sore throat that'll amount to nothing," she breathed, exerting relief when the item she'd been coaxing to the edge with her fingers was finally obtained.

"Yeah," Maz replied knowingly, feeling apprehensive. "But there is an early strand of the flu going around that starts off nice and sound, like what you're having."

"I'm fairly certain that I can take care of myself, auntie dearest," Rey countered, cocking an accusatory brow toward Maz before pouring the packet of flakes into a bowl. "You always do like to assume the worst in things, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah," Maz affirmed, waving a hand to the air. "It comes with the territory of being a nurse. Plus, you're my only niece. It's my job to be a little more paranoid than usual."

Rey snickered lightly, stealing a momentary glimpse at the clock above the stove as she moved towards the microwave that was located next to the large appliance. "What time did you say that you had to be at the airport?"

"What time is it now?" Maz asked, narrowing her eyes towards the device.

"7:30."

"Ah, well, I have to be there by no later than 8:30. So, as soon as you're finished eating," Maz stated frankly. "That should give you plenty of time to get back to school, also."

Rey nodded, ignoring Maz's sharp gaze as she stared blankly at the bowl that was revolving in a continuous, circular motion inside the microwave.

"Are you sure that you don't want me to stay?" Maz asked, again.

"Yes," Rey huffed, impatiently drumming her fingers on the countertop. "I'll be fine, I promise. Just don't forget to bring me one of those cute heart stuffies with bendable arms and legs this time," she asserted, wielding a smile to cover up the fact that the tenderness in her throat was getting worse.

"Alright," Maz sighed, conceding to her niece's accord. She proceeded to grab the piece of luggage by the leather-covered handles to set it on the tile flooring of their entryway. "Well, I left you fifty bucks on the counter in case you need anything while I'm gone. Try not to spend it all in one place, okay?"

"I'll try not to," Rey teased, feigning a look of hurt when Maz's demeanor proved that she was far from having been persuaded. "Okay, I promise."

Within a matter of hours after dropping Maz off at the South Bend International Airport, the nagging pain in Rey's throat went from feeling like she'd been stabbed continuously with needles to swallowing glassy shards. Her eyes were watery and glaringly more sensitive to the building's interior fluorescent lighting. There was a surmount of pressure building within the hollow cavities behind her eyes and cheeks, making the piercing sound of the period bells feel like her face was on the verge of spontaneous internal combustion.

Then, along came the frequent fit of coughs that typically accompanied the stream that was flooding her esophagus, which never ceased to stroke her gag reflexes as it became worse throughout the first few morning classes of her day.

By the time third period's Music Ensemble ended, Rey was more than ready to crawl inside a dark hole that was far, far away from anything remotely capable of producing any type of noise – and light. She began to realize the short getaway later in the afternoon with Ben was looking to be far bleaker than she wanted to admit.

This is definitely not allergies…

"God damn," Finn remarked, coming upon his locker alongside Rey's. "I can't believe you're still here. You look like –."

"Shit," Rey muttered shortly, saving Finn from having to state the obvious. Her muscles trembled in response to the cold chill that abruptly swept over her shoulders: one of many that appeared sporadically throughout the second and third hour classes. "Trust me; you're not the only one that's told me today. I plan on leaving here after fourth period."

"What's so important about Agriculture that's worth continuing to pollute the place?" Finn goaded, extending a hand to the locker's top shelf to swap the third hour books in exchange for those needed for fourth. "I would've been long gone after first period if I was looking that – sick," he added with a grimace.

Rey knew better than to tell Finn the real reason why she insisted staying at school (or anyone for that matter) after hearing multiple versions of the same question all morning. Chewing on the inside of her bottom lip, she pondered for a better excuse that didn't wander too far away from the truth entirely. But considering how much the sickness had started clouding her thoughts, having to pique her brain for more excuses was exceedingly harder than usual.

"I got a job last weekend," Rey fibbed, adding more propaganda onto the growing list of tall tales that seemed to be endless as she deflected Finn's question. "Today is supposed to be my first day, so to speak. I didn't wanna have to call off, but I guess I don't exactly have a choice now."

"A job, huh?" Finn asked, cocking a curious brow to Rey when she nodded. Minding her sickly-looking appearance, he gently nudged the door to his locker shut before joining her on the walk down the jam-packed corridor of students. "Well, I'm sure they'll understand your reason the moment they hear you speak over the phone," he quipped, scoffing. "Where you working at?"

"Oh, um," Rey frowned, firmly pressing her lips as she attempted to focus on swallowing without gagging for a moment. "Some sort of lawn equipment store that happened to be hiring part-time. I've been talking about it with my aunt off and on so I could earn some extra money, saving for college and all."

Finn eyed her skeptically. "Weaver's?"

"Yes!" Rey exclaimed; attempting to appear somewhat enthused about the so-called 'job' she'd obtain. She only hoped that Finn would never feel the need to pay her a visit. "That's it. I forgot the name of it."

"You actually wanna work where they sell nothing but lawn and gardening supplies?" Finn chuckled, nudging her elbow jokingly with his. "Shit, Solo's class must be rubbing off on you."

In more ways than one, she replied within her thoughts.

"It's actually not that bad of a class," Rey countered defensively, shuddering when another cold tremor swept through her torso. She hugged her textbooks closer to her chest, hoping it would provide a little more warmth to make up for what the heather grey Billabong hoodie was lacking. "There's a lot more to it besides the usual talk about dirt and farming."

"Hey, I won't argue about what appears to be striking your fancy at the moment," he shrugged. "You ladies tend to do some pretty confusing shit sometimes, so I don't ever try to figure it out unless I have to."

Rey chuckled, cocking her head as she turned to give Finn a lighthearted smile. "At least I can thank you for not being like Poe."

Finn puckered his brows at the comment, refraining to see it as a compliment. His features quickly took on a more grim appearance as he pressed his lips in thought. "Rose kinda told me a little bit about what happened at the party," he admitted apologetically. "I hope this doesn't stop you from wanting to hang out with us anyti–."

"That's definitely something that you don't need to worry about," Rey stated firmly, purposely cutting Finn off mid-sentence. Turning to face him, she placed a halting hand to his upper bicep, encouraging Finn to pause in the middle of the busy walkway. "And you better not apologize for Poe's ability to act like a pompous douchebag at times either."

"Okay, okay," Finn relented, holding a hand up in surrender while the other remained occupied with books held at his hip. "But I will apologize for not noticing what he did to you, Rey."

Rey's expression softened. "I can take care of myself when it comes to Poe," she added, feigning a wounded appearance. "I'm not that helpless. Anyways, I have to get to class."

"Alright," Finn replied, cocking a smirk. "I better not see you at lunch today just so you know."

Rey rolled her eyes and chuckled. "I will, I'll see you – whenever," she added with a casual flick of her wrist.

"I'm holding you to that, then," Finn warned with a pointed finger as he took a step towards the stairwell to the right. "I'll see you later, Rey. Hope you feel better soon."

Rey smiled and gave Finn's back a lazy wave with a free hand, lying crosswise over the other holding her books before making the trek towards the Ag hall. What was typically an easy walk (for any normal day) turned out to be like running a full-fledged cross country marathon when one's health was slightly under par. She could feel her lungs putting forth the extra effort from having to breathe through embarrassing desiccated lips.

It felt like hiking through the stifling Sahara Desert rather than being in school with a climate-controlled temperature.

By the time she managed to make it inside Ben's classroom, Rey was already feeling her body temperature skyrocket – and not because she was eyeing a certain teacher wearing a berry-colored oxford with a pair of dark, fitted jeans. Who of which was standing hunched over his desk reading an opened agriculture textbook as layers of hair shielded half of his face from her view.

"Hey," Rey breathed, exerting a nasally timbre from having her nasal's airway clogged when she spoke.

Ben lifted his attention from the page he'd been studying for the fourth hour's lecture, giving Rey a genuine look of concern. "You sound –."

"Like shit," Rey uttered in a dry tone, depositing her books at her desk before turning to Ben. "If it's any consolation to you, I plan on going home after class," she assured whilst folding her arms tightly over her chest, smiling warily in a worthless attempt to ease his worry.

Ben frowned as Rey drew closer to the front of his desk. Her eyes were detrimentally pekid while her face took on a flushed-out, ghostly appearance. The healthy tinge of blush that typically powdered her cheeks was replaced with a heated shade of red. "I was actually going to say 'healthy'," he replied as a lighthearted joke.

Rey snorted at the comment, but the act only brought upon another fit of coughs into the crook of her arm. "Liar," she croaked, grimacing when the notion finally passed.

Ben regarded her sympathetically. "Rey, you need to go home – now," he insisted gently. "I honestly can't believe that you came in today like that."

"Would you believe that it all started with a tiny sore throat when I woke up this morning?" Rey asked tediously. "It got worse after I dropped my aunt off at the airport and came here."

Ben heaved a sigh, leaning further over the desk to press a palm to her forehead. His face quickly adopted a more somber appearance when he felt the fever's heat radiating from her skin onto his. "Jesus, you're hot."

Rey smiled coyly, cocking a brow with hooded eyes. "Is that your new way of trying to flirt with me, Mr. Solo?"

Ben snorted as he withdrew his hand, smiling crookedly, "Not this time, Miss Kanata. Go home and get some rest, or I may purposely fail you on today's assignment."

Rey scoffed, jaw dropping in disbelief. "You can't be serious."

Ben nodded, standing firm with the threat, "You're welcome to call my bluff if you'd like."

Rey rolled her eyes and huffed, expressing her contempt of having to relinquish freedom through gritted teeth, "Fine."

 **– Rey Kanata 3:45 PM –** You were rightIt definitely wasn't allergies

 **– Aunt Maz 3:46 PM –** I told you!Are you okay?

"Not really," Rey mumbled to the phone. Her fever had spiked to a whopping 102 shortly after Ben sent her home from school. Her muscles ached, her nose was a leaky faucet, and she was dead-set with the belief that she looked like an unhealthy blend of Morticia Addams with a hefty dose of Lurch and Cousin It.

After changing into a pair of black polka-dotted sleep shorts with a cream-colored off the shoulder sweater, Rey was more than content with the idea of taking up residence on the sofa for the remainder of the afternoon. Sleep was considered a no-go at this point, considering the multiple failed attempts at catching some much needed sleep from having to blow her nose, shortly followed by a hacking fit of coughs.

The worst part about it all was that Rey couldn't find a single ounce of cold medicine anywhere inside the apartment.

"You'd think a nurse would keep that shit around here," Rey grumbled.

At least there was Tylenol and Ibuprofen to keep the fever at bay. In the meantime, Rey was forced to suffer the other consequential side-effects of whatever in the hell this God forsaken illness was that she'd acquired two weeks into the school year.

 **– Rey Kanata 3:48 PM –** Got the fever down to 100 so farBut the rest sucks

 **– Aunt Maz 3:50 PM –** MmhmmJust make sure you're drinking plenty of liquids

 **– Rey Kanata 3:50 PM –** I knowHow's the convention?

 **– Aunt Maz 3:52 PM –** Getting ready to check-in at the hotelGet some rest kiddo

 **– Rey Kanata 3:52 PM –** I'll try toLove you

"Yeah, definitely not happening," Rey mumbled, setting the phone onto the end table alongside the couch. A shuddered sigh turned cough escaped her lips as she ran her hands over her face, palms firmly pressed into her eye sockets before her phone buzzed again. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips when she saw who the message was from.

 **– Ben Solo –** Still mad at me?

 **– Rey Kanata –** NahIt's safe to say that you're forgiven :)

 **– Ben Solo –** Good to knowHow are you feeling?

 **– Rey Kanata –** HorribleFinally got the fever to come down a bit though

 **– Ben Solo –** That's goodI still can't believe you lasted that longI never would've passed up the opportunity to stay home when I was in school

Rey snorted at a particular thought.

 **– Rey Kanata –** You just wanted the excuse to stay home and ride

 **– Ben Solo –** TrueNow that I've been called out there's no point in denying it

 **– Rey Kanata –** For what it's worth….I'm glad that I got to see you

 **– Ben Solo –** You see me every dayI'm definitely not that interesting

 **– Rey Kanata –** Whatever, I never grow tired of it

 **– Ben Solo –** I guess that's a relief then

Rey scoffed at the screen.

 **– Rey Kanata –** Why?

 **– Ben Solo –** Open the door and you'll find out

Rey blinked at the screen, allowing her brain a moment to process the fact that Ben was talking about the door to her apartment. Her heart did a funny flip in her chest when she opened the door to see Ben gripping a couple plastic bags of groceries in one hand with a 2-liter of 7-Up safely tucked into the crook of his arm, while the other hand was busy shoving his phone inside a back denim pocket.

"It's about time," Ben goaded sweetly. "I hope I didn't wake you up or anything."

"Not even close," Rey sighed, grateful to see him. She gestured with a slight cock of her head for him to come in, giving the doorknob a slight tug that would allow him enough room to enter the tiny foyer. "I'm surprised that you would wanna be around me like – this," she admitted, gesturing a hand to herself.

Ben shrugged, his eyes doing a quick sweep over the apartment whilst showing little to no indifference over the fact that she was still contagiously sick. "I'd like to think that I have a hardy immune system," he explained with a smirk, remembering to discard his shoes on the tile. "It's one of the perks, I guess, from growing up on a farm: you hardly ever get sick. You've got a nice place here though."

"Thanks," she smiled, escorting Ben to the kitchen so he could free his hand of the bags. "It's okay I suppose. We haven't had much time to unpack anything else besides the necessities. Feel free to ignore the mound of boxes that are in the corner still," she added, flicking her wrist in the direction of said corner.

Ben chuckled, playing along as he started ridding the bags of their contents on the counter by the stove. "I hardly paid attention," he teased, glancing knowingly in her direction. It was enough to bring about a wave of blush to her colorless cheeks. "What does your aunt do?"

"She's a nurse at Kindred," Rey grunted, hoisting herself up on the counter alongside where he was unpacking, leaving her legs to dangle over the edge. "Sometimes she travels to these educational seminars to help broaden her knowledge in the field. This one was for cardiology in Maryland."

"I see," he replied. "So is that her specialty?"

Rey shrugged, scoffing, "Kinda. She's the head nurse on the cardiology floor during the day. What in the world did you bring?" She asked, nodding her head to the package of raw chicken breasts with celery, egg noodles, and carrots.

"These," Ben stated frankly with a grin, "are some of the ingredients needed for the best chicken noodle soup that you'll ever taste."

Rey considered him, smiling anemically, "You seriously didn't have to do this. I would've been more than happy with a couple cans of Campbell's."

Ben scowled at the thought, "That shit's garbage. This is my mother's recipe, so I'm fairly certain that you'll love it."

"So you're a teacher, horse trainer, and a cook?" Rey goaded, cocking a brow. "That's a pretty impressive resume."

"I suppose," Ben admitted, shrugging with indifference. He paused for a moment from opening the sealed pack of chicken, palms pressed to the edge of the counter as he leaned closer to her. "I just remember you saying that you hated eating take-out all the time. So, I figured canned foods went along with the category."

Rey smiled, considering the fact that Ben had gone above and beyond to make her food over a comment that seemed so insignificant in the beginning. "I didn't think you would take that so literally," she admitted, drawing a shallow breath.

Ben gave her a long, contemplative look while his eyes briefly trailed over her face, encouraging the tension to become thicker than it had ever been between them since that morning at the ranch. Clearing his throat, he suddenly remembered the former task before he became distracted. It wound up counting towards the better half of his judgment that day, considering Rey quickly burst into another fit of coughs.

"Sorry," Rey grimaced, pressing a hand to massage her chest where the ache remained from the overexertion.

"I guess it's a good thing that I brought this then," Ben affirmed, revealing a combo pack of Dayquil and Nyquil tablets that he pulled from one of the bags. "Something told me that you might need it."

Rey's shoulders fell in relief, expressing a sigh at the same time. "You seriously are a saint, you know that?" She sniffed, happily accepting the box from his hand.

Ben chuckled, regarding the compliment whilst tending to free the chicken from its packaging. Rey pointed to the precise locations where their pots and pans were stored while Ben continued making the primeval, soul-soothing remedy from scratch. That, also, included watching him slice up an estimated number of carrot chunks and celery stalks while the chicken was busy serving as the maker for broth.

Aside from the fact that Rey wasn't able to put a label on what was happening between them, there was something so domesticated about Ben purposely going out of his way to provide for her in a dire time of sickness. The simple pondering of it was enough to render a new sort of warmth in her chest: something that felt so foreign yet proverbial in essence.

In the end, Rey only wished that she'd been able to appreciate the flavor of Ben's family recipe; no thanks to her nose and head swelling with congestion. However she was more than content as the hot liquid soothed her throat with every swallow. It was during their small dinner at the dining table that they discovered a shared interest in Tolkien's films of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Rey admitted to conveniently owning the extended edition of the latter's trilogy.

While Ben tended to cleaning up his mess in the kitchen, Rey chose to watch the second half of Return of the King. Bearing in mind that it was her favorite of the trilogy, it gave her enough time to enjoy the remainder of the evening with Ben after taking Nyquil's proper dosage.

They started out occupying opposite ends of the couch in the living room, but, slowly, the irresistible pull to the other led to them meeting at the middle cushion. Rey contentedly settled into Ben's side, her head lazily propped against his chest while his arm draped casually over her shoulders, hand resting above her hip. She wished that she could take in his scent whenever she breathed. Instead, she settled with focusing on the firmness of muscle that currently served as a pillow as the medicine's side-effects started kicking in, and how incredibly warm Ben felt being this close to him.

"Do you know what I never understood?" Rey hummed, drawing the extra-large knitted throw blanket under her chin with a fist. "How Legolas can go through the entire trilogy here with unlimited arrows, yet in The Hobbit he's cut himself short."

Ben chuckled in response to her question, causing her head to tremble slightly as his chest shook. "I always wondered that myself," he admitted in a hoarse tone. "I don't think they expected anyone to notice."

Rey nodded, agreeing. Her eyes begrudgingly began to close halfway through the battle of Pelennor Fields, drifting into a light slumber until she felt Ben shift to the side to retrieve his phone from his pocket.

Ben frowned, discontent with the fact that it was quickly approaching 9:00. "It's getting late," he scoffed, stating the obvious.

Rey's eyes fluttered open for a moment, promptly closing them whilst urging her body closer to him – as if it were possible to get any closer without sitting on his lap.

"Stay," she purred softly. "Please."

Ben took a breath, considering the harmless effects of spending the night with her on the couch. "Okay."

Rey smiled, feeling a subtle blend of dazed and giddy that he'd relented so easily. She watched him with weary eyes as he proceeded to set the alarm for the morning on his phone. Powering down the movie and TV, Ben settled as comfortably as he could get into the couch, legs stretched out in front of him.

Rey hummed softly, sighing with satisfaction as his grip around her waist tightened. Having a hand placed on his chest, she focused on the steady rise and fall from his breathing as she succumbed to the medicine's sleep aid.

"Good night," she uttered quietly. The last thing she remembered upon seeing the backs of her eyelids was her ability to feel a pair of luscious, soft lips brushing against the middle of her forehead as Ben spoke in a tone as equally soft as hers.

"Good night, Rey."


	12. Let Bygones Be Bygones

Stay. Please.

How could such a simple plea revive images of the events from a past he'd purposely left dead and forgotten? No two words had ever managed to sustain such an effect over Ben as they did at that moment though the words were Rey's, and not ones from his own recollection.

A wave of nostalgia from his days in college had come charging towards him, like a herd of wild mustangs being set loose. The thunderous sound of hooves echoing inside his head, along with Rey's innocent questions, had effectively revived those old memories, concealed in the deepest catacomb of his mind, of the day his father lost the use of his legs.

But all those ghosts from his past accomplished was to remind him of all he lost and strengthen his desire to hold on to this budding relationship with Rey, resisting his usual fear of history repeating itself.

But…

Rey was different, she wasn't her. It was a thought he had to remind himself of until slowly, his fear of what could happen subsided, remembering how she and Kylo had taken to each other. It made the worry of bringing Rey to the ranch at first more poignant, ensuring that he wouldn't make the same mistakes twice.

Still, none of those reasons provided an explanation for why he hastily said 'yes' to spending the night with her. He could have said 'no' and promised to check on her the next morning before school. It was what the little voice of reason wanted him to do, screaming that this was Rey, his student, and their deepening relationship could be dangerous to both of them. However, the days where Ben viewed her in that light had long passed. Not since she became his friend and confidante, the face he looked forward to seeing every day, especially when he thought of the day when they almost kissed, the butterflies in his stomach, the way her breath hitched as he came close. He didn't know how he could stop himself once he got a taste of those lips. He vowed not to risk pursuing more until she turned eighteen.

One more week, he reassured himself. One more week and Rey would officially be considered legal for him to express how much she'd come to mean to him without having to suffer more shame and worry than what he was bringing upon himself already.

It was easier said than done, of course, considering he instinctively went to kiss Rey before leaving the following morning. It wouldn't have been much, just a simple peck to the forehead, but he resisted. Luckily, the Nyquil continued to make her sleepy, so the moment played out to be less awkward when he decided to simply brush some stray hairs from her face instead. Maintaining this level of restraint proved to be difficult when he stayed with Rey the next evening and again by accident the Friday night after.

Awakening from his sleep to the iconic orchestral music coming from the television, he discovered the classical modern music that played while on The Fellowship of the Ring's main menu.

His eyelids fluttered open slowly, realizing that he'd fallen asleep while he and Rey were watching the movie the night before. Removing the warped frames that left an indentation on his face from leaning against his palm all night, he settled them on the armrest over the screen of his phone. After running his hands over his face, his sight settled on the sleeping figure using him as a pillow.

Rey was nestled peacefully between his legs, her knees raised over the calf of his right leg while his other was stretched along the outer cushion edges down the length of the sofa. Her back was pressed against his chest, head relaxing on his shoulder directly lined-up with Ben's chin. Her arm was on his outer thigh, the other on her lap.

A smile teased the corners of his mouth when he heard faint snores passing through her slightly parted lips, with the remnants of a stuffy nose from the fading illness. Ben carefully slipped his left hand through the crevice between her bicep and side, taking advantage of what seemed to be the only chance he had to spend time with her before Maz came home the following morning. He hugged her firmly, earning a contented sigh from Rey as Ben leaned his shoulder comfortably into the sofa's plush backside.

Rey shifted her weight onto her left hip, still slightly dazed from the prior evening's dose of cold remedy. She drew the blanket under her chin with the hand that was previously resting on her lap, bringing her knees up against Ben's outstretched leg. His hand skimmed down the brief extent of her ribs, coming to a halt at the shallow incline of her hip.

"You're cute when you snore," Ben confessed, his brows humorously curved.

Rey scrunched her nose at the thought, brows puckering along with a noticeable grimace. "I don't snore," she contested, burying her nose into the plaid flannel near his shirt collar to hide the embarrassment burning her cheeks. He smelled like a subtle combination of chicken soup with a floral-blend of Downy fabric soap. "It's probably something that you heard in the music."

"Sure," Ben chuckled, his laugh rumbling low from his chest. His thumb moved in lazy circles over the cotton fabric of her black leggings. "I guess it didn't take long for either of us to pass out last night."

"One of these days we'll watch a movie all the way through," Rey snorted, her voice coming out muffled from holding the blanket pressed below her bottom lip.

"Perhaps," Ben replied pensively, focus trained on one of many clumps of hair that was pulling itself free from the chaotic mess of her ponytail. It really was quite a sight to behold, like she'd stuck a finger in a light socket at some point. "Not that I can complain about the alternative though."

"Ditto," Rey smiled, opening her eyes for the first time since she'd woken. She watched the constant loop of events play on the television screen with hooded eyes. "Being sick wasn't so bad when the company more than made up for it," she finally spoke after a long pause, "even though I'm sure the sight of me was far from my best at times."

Ben considered his reply, while his hand absentmindedly caressed her hip. "I beg to differ," he admitted huskily.

Rey raised her head from his chest, their faces mere inches apart. A rosy-colored tinge highlighted her cheeks, blood rushing to her face, feeling slightly self-conscious about his compliment. Ben's hand ascended from her hip to her cheek, adding to the warmth as he cupped the prominent rise of her jaw. He caught sight of a barely visible dimple when she smiled, his features adopting a look that resembled hers.

"I think you're the one who's getting sick now," Rey replied timidly, laying a balmy hand on his forehead. Her fingers brushed the short layers of his bangs, mingling over his skin, to the side, brows drawn heavily as if Ben were actually sick. "Just as I had feared," she sighed. "You are a little feverish."

"I doubt it," Ben responded, his face taking on a wounded expression. If only Rey knew how much she affected him without trying. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she huffed, moving her hand to its previous warm spot beneath the blanket. "Are you going to your parents' today?"

"Yeah, I have to," Ben said. "Not just because of Kylo, but, apparently, they decided to add a little more to their usual bash this year," he explained. "I'll be spending the day helping get that set up since it's next weekend."

"Can I help?" Rey asked, sounding hopeful. "My head's just a little stuffed, but I could use the fresh air."

Ben hesitated for a moment, "Only if you're up to it."

"What – no ultimatum this time?" Rey quipped, raising an accusatory brow.

Ben smirked, "You know I wasn't going to actually fail you right?"

"Maybe, but I wouldn't have put it past you Mr. 'I make linebackers cry,'" she goaded, poking her index finger at his chest.

"That – isn't entirely true," Ben explained with an amused look on his face. "It was a quarterback."

Rey rolled her eyes and laughed, before her eyes lowered to her stomach, acknowledging the angry growl that was its way of begging for food. "Of course," she sighed.

"At least your appetite is back," Ben countered. "I can make us something before we go."

Rey wrinkled her nose, mulling over what was inside the kitchen cupboards and fridge. "There are eggs, cereal –," her face instantly lit up at a thought, "– and everything needed for pancakes."

Ben nodded, agreeing immediately, "Pancakes it is."

* * *

Watching Ben cook was becoming one of her favorite pastimes. It was the little things about him, she realized, that made the wait for the sweet and fluffy sustenance more tolerable as the sultry smell from the skillet frying on the stovetop merged with the warm, floral notes of vanilla. Like, watching his focused concentration when measuring out the flour and baking powder, and his gentle yet precise manner while allowing the batter on the skillet to bubble just a little before he would flip it.

But it was the crackling sound of eggshells breaking, followed by electric beaters blending the creamy substance, that brought back Rey's memories of a warm childhood. Those days, her legs had been significantly shorter and she needed the help of a larger pair of hands to get to her perch on the counter. That was only if her mom's guitar case hadn't been lying around. On most days, Rey wound up turning the object into her own make-do step stool. Her cheeks had been chubbier with a voice that remained observantly quiet. And the kitchen had been slightly smaller at the back of the tiny bakery shop, occupying the corner of 6th and Main Street in downtown London.

Rey narrowed her eyes, focusing hard on the tiny air pockets that bubbled over the batter that Ben had poured a few moments before, sifting through memories that had lapsed into the alcove of her mind over the passing years.

"You okay?" Ben asked, concern carving into his features as he noticed the faraway look in her eyes. It had been a solid few moments since he last saw her blink.

Rey nodded, fluttering her lashes to rid of the burning sensation from staring for too long. Her eyes ascended to his, easing his worry a little with a nod. She offered a smile, a silent indicator of what her inner emotions were.

"I used to do this with my mum," Rey uttered wistfully, eliciting a staggered look from Ben at the first time he'd heard Rey speak of her mother. "She loved to bake, even owned her own bakery."

Ben nodded, his lips curling inward as he considered his reply to what he knew would be a sensitive topic. "Did she have a personal favorite?" He asked, genuinely curious. "To bake – I mean."

Rey knitted her brows and chewed on the inner pocket of her cheek, rummaging through every memory that could point her towards the name of that certain pastry her mom had cooked the most. As if it were a scene from a television show she'd just seen, her mouth twitched at the corners when she discovered it.

"Scones," she stated simply at first, her voice rising with excitement as she dove further into the story. It was surprising how easily she was able to talk about her mother with Ben. "Her favorite was chocolate chip, but she always made sure that there was one white chocolate out of the batch for me every day. It was one thing I looked forward to the most after school."

"Did you ever try to bake anything?" Ben inquired, raising his brows expectantly. Gathering the pancakes from the skillet with a spatula, he dispensed them into even stacks between the two dishes he'd set out.

Rey nodded, eyeing the food hungrily as Ben drizzled a healthy amount of syrup over each pile before realizing he was still waiting for a direct answer. "She would let me crack the eggs sometimes. But there were a lot of cookies and cakes that wound up having eggshells in them," she snickered, her face adopting an apologetic look as if Ben had once been a victim. "And she let me stir the batter. But I was mostly her professional taster before she put anything into the oven."

"So," Ben started thoughtfully, asking her to follow him with a subtle cock of his head, wielding a plate in each hand, "can I request something special from the chef?"

Rey furrowed her brows, lips drawn askew as she gave his back a contemplative look. Urging herself from the counter and landing with a grunt, she proceeded to claim the chair alongside Ben's at the table. "I would hardly call myself a chef, but I may have a special recipe that you may like," she declared, chewing her bottom lip. "I can't guarantee that it'll taste as remotely good as hers, or not have eggshells."

Ben nodded in approval and smiled. "As long as I don't have to worry about internal bleeding."

"Um – no," she assured him with a laugh. "We're talking just enough to give whatever I choose a little bit of a crunchy texture. Just a little bit though," she teased, displaying a pinching gesture with her forefinger and thumb to show how little she meant.

Ben chuckled, severing a slice from the heap of food with the side of his fork, "Then, you have my approval."

Rey beamed excitedly, deciding on a specific recipe that she wanted to make for him – and for herself – while diving into the plate that was loaded to the rim with syrup. The idea of cooking anything for Ben fueled her ambition to finally explore every box that remained sealed in hopes of finding her mom's binder of favorite recipes. It was definitely something that she would leave for a weekend, or a weeknight when there wasn't homework to keep her busy.

Taking the first bite of her breakfast, Rey moaned through a sigh as the food gradually melted on her tongue like butter, eyes rolling in the process. She chewed slowly, savoring the flavor before swallowing. "These are incredible," she commended, seeming too eager for the next bite to notice the proud grin on Ben's face. "Let me guess – it's your mom's recipe," she stated, too shy to lift her gaze from her plate.

Ben shook his head. "Actually, it's mine," he replied humbly, earning a very expressive look from Rey, her mouth now too full to properly respond.

"Impressive," Rey murmured shortly, casting a sidelong glance in Ben's direction, followed by a silent chuckle.

They sat in a warm, companionable silence as Rey busily chomped at her food while Ben retrieved the phone buzzing inside his front pocket. "I guess we have to make an extra stop today," he said, after reading Leia's text. His thumb pranced over the screen, adding a brief reply.

"For what?" Rey inquired, taking a pause between bites.

"Spray paint," Ben confirmed calmly. "Every year they put a design on the display ends of the hay bale mounds. It makes it more appealing for kids, I guess," he explained. "Last year they did pigs."

Rey snorted at the concept, "I love it. What's the theme this year?"

Ben shrugged, stabbing his fork into some pre-cut slices, "Whatever you decide."

Rey blinked like she just received some sort of high honor reward, "Anything?"

Ben nodded, replying through the corner of his mouth that wasn't occupied by food, "Anything."

Rey drew her bottom lip with an incisor, considering the variety of options that could be done for such an occasion. Spiders were too Halloweenish, so were ghosts and witches and Frankenstein faces. Jack o' lanterns remained a likely possibility, but so did cows and minions from Despicable Me. It wasn't until the end of breakfast that she realized what she wanted to do. It would be the perfect representation of what Solo-Skywalker Ranch was about – in an autumn theme.

* * *

"It's about fucking time you guys showed up!" Sabine cried from a concealed location within a stall, conceding to the voices of Rey and Ben echoing through the barn's lofty interior. "Where in the hell have you two been?"

"I wasn't aware that we were on a strict schedule," Ben retorted wryly, raising his voice to make up for the fact that he had no idea where Sabine was hiding out. His fingers concurrently untangled from Rey's, both depositing the plastic bags filled with the colors they'd chosen for the hay bale art onto the floor of the prepping station.

"Well, not according to Leia's schedule per se," Sabine admitted sheepishly, revealing her position as she stepped over the threshold of Chopper's stall with a shovel in hand. "My fingers are just itching to hold a can of paint."

"You've always been the impatient one here out of the bunch," Ben remarked, urging Rey from the prep station with a gentle press of his hand to the small of her back towards Sabine's location.

"Not necessarily," Sabine shrugged, not putting much thought into the brief gesture she noticed between the two as they approached. "I just didn't feel like shoveling horse shit all morning while my bitchiness is already off the charts with PMS."

"Jesus, I didn't need to know that," Ben growled, his lips brandishing a scowl.

"I can sympathize," Rey admitted, speaking up from her place alongside Ben. "I felt like shit for a few days this week, I get it. But you can put the blame on me for us being late. I had him make an extra pit stop to bring Kylo a little treat," she gestured her hand, revealing the voluptuous, red apple that she'd hidden in the pouch of her hoodie.

Sabine smiled at the gesture. "He'll love that for sure. He wasn't as mopey as usual when I snuck a peek out back earlier," she elaborated, casually directing her thumb over a shoulder towards the site of Kylo's pasture.

"That is a first," Ben concurred, sounding as genuinely surprised as Sabine had been while briefly glancing to the landscape beyond the structure's interior. "So, has it been just you all morning?"

Sabine shook her head, allowing them to catch a better glimpse of her dramatic new hairdo. The crown of her head was as black as Rey recalled it being the last time that she saw Sabine, except the colors extending from the darkness were now tri-melted shades of a fiery red to orange to a sandy blonde. Rey wondered what colors her hair would be the next time she'd see her.

"No, Hera helped me this morning," Sabine assured, leaning the shovel grip against the stall door. Her arms quickly folded over her chest, acknowledging a cool draft flowing through the open entrances. "She went to get some lunch with Wedge a little bit ago. Biggs was looking for you earlier though, I think."

Ben scoffed, "What for?"

"I guess the tractor decided to take a shit yesterday," Sabine uttered bluntly.

Ben gave her a look that exerted being less than enthused, "And?"

"And," Sabine started sardonically, enunciating the word with more effort, "apparently you're a master at hooking up old-fashioned carts."

Ben rolled his eyes, huffing out a groan, "It doesn't take that much competency to hook up a damn cart."

"They need Jango for it," Sabine replied, a little more brazen than before. "Evidently the assholes tend to listen to you better."

Rey snickered while nodding in agreement, giving Ben an amused look when he cocked a brow her way. "Sorry," she agreed with a cynical grin, "but I think it's a proven fact at this point. You have a way of making assholes more submissive."

Ben felt the heat of embarrassment scourge his face, bleeding from his cheeks over to his ears. His tongue toyed with the inside of his cheek, choosing the next set of words carefully as Rey and Sabine drowned in a fit of cackles. His eyes grew dark and cynical, brandishing a wolfish grin. "More than just assholes, I tend to like exerting dominance and control in all aspects of life," he explained, allotting a wink towards Rey as he pivoted at the waist to take his leave. "It's just who I am, I guess."

Rey blinked, staring at the empty space where Ben had stood for a prolonged period, her mind absurdly puzzled until the meaning of his expression finally sunk in along with the humiliation of her own. However, Ben's comment was more than telling without Sabine needing to be enlightened more on the details of what was going on between him and Rey. It wasn't just his parting words that managed to bring all of the pieces together, but, also the way Ben looked at Rey as well as the inexplicable bond between her and Kylo.

Interesting…

"I'll – um," Rey stammered, biting the side of her lip with her top molars, "let me give this to Kylo real quick and I can help you with – whatever."

"Sure," Sabine nodded, smiling perceptively. "It doesn't have to be done today," she added reassuringly with a shrug. "At least the weather is good for us to get somewhat of a head start. It's going to take a boat load of paint to finish the three mounds that they planned to build, anyway."

Rey nodded, considering her with apprehension before advancing to Kylo's outdoor enclosure. Sabine trailed alongside her, arms remaining crossed, expression pensive as they walked in momentary silence. They had barely made it over the barn's interior sill when Sabine finally spoke, breaking the awkwardness.

"So," Sabine started, cocking a knowing smirk, "you and Ben, huh?"

Rey took a breath, regarding Sabine with a timid glance, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Sabine rolled her eyes, pausing in her strides. "I know that there's something going on between you two, Rey," she huffed. "I see the way he looks at you."

Rey felt her pulse rise as Sabine's words began to settle: she knew. Of course, they'd been careless enough to allow the little secret of their budding relationship to show with someone else around. Halting in her steps, Rey swallowed the heavy lump forming at the back of her throat as she turned to face Sabine. Her shoulders rose and fell, heaving a shuddered sigh.

"I do like him," Rey whispered, dropping her eyes to the toes of her converse. "A lot, actually. And I think it's safe to say that the feeling's mutual."

Sabine considered her, expression soft. "What's the problem, then?"

Rey frowned, raising her chin to meet Sabine's imploring look. "He's my teacher," she confessed solemnly, hands fidgeting with the apple in her sweater pouch. "And I'm seventeen – until next week."

Rey expected Sabine to have been more judgmental about the shocking revelation, but it wound up taking a turn in the opposite direction. Surprised – yes: Sabine's eyes were a dead giveaway that she was shocked. But there was a considerable amount of empathy as well.

"Has he been good to you?" Sabine asked. "No roaming hands or attempts with underage hanky-panky?"

Rey snorted, her chest feeling significantly lighter and more at ease. "Yes and no. It's all so very new. I would hardly call it a steady relationship just yet."

The early morning activity didn't count, right?

"Good, cause I would be forced to kick his ass," Sabine warned, though the affable tint in her voice said otherwise. "As I said, Ben's a good guy – a keeper for sure. Now, let's feed the jerk and go paint."


	13. Happy Birthday, Rey

**– Elena Gilbert –** Happy birthday, Rey! I hope your day is fantastic 3

 **– Rose Tico –** AAAAHHHHHH!!! YOU'RE 18!!!HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!

 **– Finn Cooper –** Happy birthday! Don't do anything that I wouldn't do! ;)

 **– Caroline Klaus –** Happy birthday love 3Miss you like crazy in the sunshine state!

 **– Sabine Wren –** Happy birthday, sweetie!Ridden any stallions yet? ;) I can think of one!*wink wink nudge nudge*

"Oh my god, Sabine!" Rey cried to the screen of her phone, planting a palm over her forehead when she came upon Sabine's message, hidden amongst the other several dozen birthday wishes posted on her Facebook's timeline. She pressed her thumb to the 'like' tab beneath the comment and scrolled along the selection of emoji icons, choosing the laughing face since it lacked one with blazing, tomato-red cheeks.

 **– Belle Adams –**

Happy birthday!

 **– Poe Dameron –**

Happy birthday, beautiful

To which Rey rolled her eyes and continued scouring over the remainder of unread messages in bed, despondent to leaving the comforter's warmth before time struck 9:00 on an uneventful Saturday morning. Her phone vibrated in hand, alerting Rey of the newly received instant message from a person she could barely contain her excitement to see later on in the day.

 **– Ben Solo –** Happy birthday, Rey

 **– Rey Kanata –** Thank you 3

 **– Ben Solo –** Feel any different?

 **– Rey Kanata –** Other than the fact that I can legally buy porn and cigarettes?Not really! Lol Oh, and vote!

 **– Ben Solo –**...

 **– Rey Kanata –** Shut up!

 **– Ben Solo –** I wasn't gonna comment *insert eyes emoji*

"I'm sure you weren't," Rey snorted at Ben's message, grinning roguishly.

 **– Rey Kanata –** But if I have to answer seriously…I still haven't gotten out of bed

 **– Ben Solo –** I would expect nothing less from an old fart

 **– Rey Kanata –** :P Speak for yourself!I'm excited for this afternoon thoughAny last minute reminders of anything that I need to bring?

 **– Ben Solo –** NopeJust you

 **– Rey Kanata –** *thumbs up emoji*

Squeak. Thud. Squeak. Squeak. Thud. Thud.

 **– Rey Kanata –** I suppose I should start rising from the dead

 **– Ben Solo –** Enjoy your birthday morningSee you later

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Rey grumbled, surrendering over the comfort of staying in bed a few moments longer and gave the bedspread a begrudged heave to the side. She pulled on a taffy-colored sweatshirt to go along with the black and white checkered sleep pants, conceding to the familiar sound of Bee-Bee's wheel chafing along the wall of his cage.

"You really are making a bad habit out of this, you know," Rey chided through her teeth, raising a brow in reprimand to the rodent who stubbornly refused to leave the immobile object while being repositioned from the enclosure's barrier. She continued with the usual morning routine of giving Bee-Bee a fresh bowl of food, and water from the bathroom tap, before greeting Maz in the kitchen.

"Good morning, kiddo," Maz greeted animatedly, glancing through the side rim of her glasses whilst pouring the pot of coffee's steaming content into a teal mug, embellished with the image of a stethoscope and the outline of a heartbeat on one side. "Happy birthday!"

"Thank you," Rey sighed, propping her elbows over the short end of the counter adjacent to Maz, fingers loosely threaded. "Got the morning off today?"

"On the contrary," Maz countered, returning the half-filled pot to its station, "I've got the whole day off."

Rey's expression reigned surprise, lips drawn agape. "I'm shocked! Two whole days off in a row: today and tomorrow?"

Maz nodded, confirming the notion over the course of taking a pilfered sip of liquid caffeine, "Yep," she ratified contentedly. "What kind of trouble do you think we should get ourselves into?"

Rey pursed her lips and frowned, tapping an index over the opposing knuckle, "We could go to Cirilla's?" She proposed devilishly. "Then, we could go to the gas station afterwards and buy a carton of cigarettes that I'll never smoke."

"Um – no!" Maz firmly allotted. "Your parents would haunt the entirety of my existence if I ever allowed you to do such a thing – to buy cigarettes, that is."

Rey chuckled and nodded, agreeing. "I don't doubt that they would," she verified, continuing to push her luck. "What about the novelty shop?"

Maz shrugged, "That's something that you can do with your friends. Just please, for the love of God, don't tell me what you buy."

Rey gave Maz a look that feigned hurt, "I figured you would be one of those more daring aunties."

"I was a hippie that smoked pot and talked shit," Maz affirmed with a snort, "your father was the enabler of our time."

Rey scrunched her nose, directed specifically towards a particular notion that related well to her parents. "Do you happen to know which box that mum's recipe book is packed in?"

Maz considered the query over another sip from her mug, perceiving unspoken questions she had of her own that regarded Rey's interest stemming past her mom's guitar. Her chest rose and fell noticeably, liberating a huff. "Your guess is about as good as mine, kiddo," she confessed. "But I do remember sticking it in one of the boxes in your room if that narrows it down any."

Rey nodded, conferring a smile, "It does. Thank you."

"Speaking of cooking, that reminds me," Maz muttered, directing a pointer finger to the invisible light bulb that sparked her memory. Depositing her mug to the counter, Maz pivoted on her heal and advanced to the fridge, earning a favorable smile from Rey that beamed far beyond her eyes when the small, store-purchased birthday cake was revealed. "I had planned to make one myself this year, but time got away from me once again."

"You didn't have to get me anything," Rey assured, ignoring her mouth salivating treacherously when her senses caught a whiff of the vanilla decadence's buttercream icing with brightly-colored sprinkles dusted over its top and sides.

"It's just a cake, Rey," Maz contested, prying away the plastic lid. "And I can most certainly buy you something if I want. I was planning on taking you tomorrow to do some shopping, but we could do that today instead if you want?"

Rey reiterated the notion in her head while Maz rummaged through a nearby drawer, jammed full with utensils in search of a serving knife for the cake. She supposed it would be nice to have something different to wear during her afternoon outing with Ben. Even if the trip was to the county fair and the typical day out at the Solo's ranch, the concept of looking nice for Ben seemed – well, nice.

"Sure," Rey smiled, humoring her aunt with a nod of approval, "sounds great. I just have to be back by 3:00, if that's okay?"

"Oh, of course," Maz replied gladly, wielding the tool she'd been rooting around for with a renowned look of satisfaction. "I wasn't aware that you had plans this evening?"

Rey chewed her bottom lip, mind in limbo over how Maz would react to her wanting to spend time with Ben somewhere other than the usual outing to the farm. "Ben's taking me to the fair in South Bend," she murmured, skimming the point of her tongue between her lips and nervously drumming one set of fingers over the other hand's knuckles. "We were gonna go to the ranch afterwards," she shrugged. "They're doing hayrides and a bonfire and stuff tonight."

Maz allotted her niece a sidelong glance, brow arched inquisitively. "Oh?" She quipped curiously, channeling the knife down the center of the cake. "Would this happen to be the same fellow that loaned you his shirt a few weeks back?"

Rey bobbed her head tentatively, eyes fixed keenly on her aunt.

"I see," Maz remarked, retrieving two dessert saucers from the cupboard ahead of where she stood at the counter. "Well, I suppose that I can't blame you for growing fond of someone that's older. I get that most boys your age tend to be somewhat immature," she explained. "Just be careful though, alright kiddo? Guys tend to think with one head only at times, and I'm not talking about the one sitting on their shoulders."

Rey permitted a sigh in relief, suppressing a laugh. "I can promise you that Ben's different," she informed in his defense. "And if it makes you feel any better we haven't even kissed yet."

"Yet," Maz stressed, handing over the small dish that contained a healthy serving of cake. "I suppose that makes me feel a wee bit better," she concluded with a wink. "I like him already."

"I think you would like him," Rey hummed, foregoing the fork when she happily proceeded to indulge in a generous glob of icing with a forefinger.

The incoming twilight brought upon a new wave of visitors to South Bend's Free Fall Fair, including chilly temperatures that distinguished autumn's early phases of the day as it slowly dissipated into the early evening hours of night.

The gradual loss in sunlight provided more than enough grounds to hale every neon carnival light in the area. Bulbs in various colors from rides, game booths, and concession stands flourished to life, stimulating an infinite bokeh effect as the structures strode further off into the distance.

Some rides resembled starships ascending into the sky while others continued to look like brighter versions of themselves as they once appeared earlier in the day. Screams pierced the atmosphere from those being spun and thrashed about, which gradually diminished into the vivacious beats of hip-hop music when the ride came to an end.

As the crowd rose in numbers the lines grew considerably longer for those anxiously waiting to ride the more popular and favorite attractions at the event: like The Wipeout, Fireball, and Freak-Out. After the third time of riding The Wipeout, Rey was certain she'd accumulated a rather reasonable amount of bruises after being nudged and squashed by Ben against the interior side of the seat.

Still, being the first carnival event that Rey had ever been to, having a few blemishes on her skin wasn't nearly enough to hinder the fact that it was the most fun she'd ever experienced. She told Ben just as much, and he admitted to disbelief that she'd never been to this sort of festive occasion.

"That should be a crime right there," Ben declared. "You mean to tell me that you've never gotten to indulge in an elephant ear?"

"My aunt always had to work," Rey shrugged, harnessing her arm around the crook of Ben's. She slowly skimmed her thumb over the material of his long-sleeved Henley. They'd just begun ambling down the isle of games when the topic had been broached, ignoring the cries from carnival workers attempting to coax those who passed by to play. "And no, I've never had an elephant ear."

"Can I confer benefit of the doubt that you at least know what an elephant ear is?" Ben teased, allotting a smirk in her direction.

It wasn't like he needed another reason to look at her that evening, though it was becoming increasingly harder to pry his eyes away each time. Even when Rey wasn't dolled up in an oversized, marigold sweater with skinny jeans and a newly purchased pair of coffee-colored booties, she never ceased to look more beautiful each time. If only he'd work up the nerve to tell her…

Rey rolled her eyes. "Of course I know what an elephant ear is," she huffed. "It's a fried, rounded-thingy with sugar on top."

Ben chuckled animatedly. "A fried, rounded thingy," he repeated, earning a playful smack to the sternum from Rey. "Well, we'll definitely be changing that tonight just so you know."

Rey nodded, opening her mouth to reply before the words were immediately lost over the boisterous sound of balloons popping in a sporadic surge. Her muscles noticeably flinched, yelping a startled shriek at the unanticipated noise. "Jesus, that scared the shit out of me," she sighed, resting a hand over her chest while her heartbeat returned to normal after the brief scare.

"That would be the Balloon Water Race game," Ben chuckled, affirming the source to which the pop stemmed from originally. He nodded ahead of them towards the stand that occupied well over a dozen players, each aiming a water pistol at a target inside the mouth of the Warner Brother's character, the Tasmanian Devil. An assortment of prizes, ranging from small to large in size, hung on display inside the cubicle for players to choose. "Whoever fills their balloon up the fastest wins."

Rey emitted him a grin, declaring herself open to the challenge whilst imploring for him to join. Ben agreed, nodding without saying more beyond the promise that he would surely win.

"We'll see," Rey winked. She interlaced their fingers without so much as wanting to reassess the motion, excitedly pulling him to the game in question. The gesture had started to become more natural to enact upon since those few days Ben stayed with her at the apartment. It's like her fingers were meant to be fitted, warm and snug, between his.

Neither was declared winner of the first match, but they remained persistent. After the initial failed attempt (with shared laughter and fake tears), one engagement in game play led directly into that of a second round – and a third then forth before Ben was officially crowned victor of round number five. He let Rey pick the prize for her to keep. Following the act of heavy deliberation over the diversity of choices she wound up choosing a significantly large, over-stuffed bear covered in the bluest, cobalt fur she'd ever seen.

"I guess I shouldn't have to worry about losing you now in the crowd," Ben teased, bobbing a salute towards the soft toy that Rey was hugging to her chest.

Rey shook her head and snorted, "No, I don't suppose that you should have to."

"So, where to?" Ben implored, drawing an arm around her shoulders and pulling Rey into his side.

Rey cocked her head, perceiving the stark aroma of grilled tenderloins mingling with deep-fried potato skins and onions, briefly taking hold over her sense of hunger. A swell of bodies suffused the interconnecting aisle known as 'junk food alley,' where each individual pampered themselves with a select choice for how their arteries would be clogged.

Ben refrained from asking Rey to enlighten more on the topic; the expression of famish that her face developed after catching glimpse of someone turning from a corner concession booth, wielding a paper plate with a funnel cake smothered in strawberry toppings made it more than palpable to what she wanted.

"We could eat," Ben suggested, warranting a look from Rey that implied as if he'd just read her mind.

They pushed and prodded their way through the dense crowd of civilians, bearing in mind the needless effort to provide a 'sorry' for every side and elbow purposely bumped in the process. Rey mulled over every menu on display, expressing provisions like corn dogs, deep-fried Oreos and Twinkies out loud whilst curling her lip at items such as deep-fried pig ears and taco cheesecakes.

"How in the hell do people come up with some of these concoctions?" Rey asked, genuinely intrigued by what possesses society to consume anything that sounded like something a dog would eat.

"I ask myself that every year I come here," Ben admitted. His hand lowered to her hip, urging Rey in front of him to guide her through the masses. "I'm more for playing it safe and going with the usual mozzarella stick than something that would potentially rot me from the inside."

Rey laughed, not believing the notion that'd popped into her mind out of the blue. "We could make it a little more interesting, you know?" She inquired over her shoulder, receiving a tentative eyebrow raise from Ben to her back. "We can each pick something out for the other that neither of us would order on our own."

"You can't be serious?" Ben grunted, seeming equally as surprised as she about the newly anointed proposal.

"I'm dead serious," Rey insisted; furnishing a sly smile at nobody in particular that occupied the lane before her. "I promise I'll make sure that yours isn't too – um – strange."

Ben heaved a sigh in defeat, his face demonstrating a look that exerted being less than enthused about the thought. However, it was a dare that developed into something far more entertaining than he initially believed it to be: that was following the look of revulsion that'd appeared on Rey's face when he presented the cardstock container of pickle slices marinated in strawberry Kool-Aid to her. Rey opted for the deep-fried butter curds as his proposed treat.

"It isn't too late," Ben assured, settling down next to Rey in a grassy area behind the mobile stands of refreshments. "I can still get us something that's more – you know – normal?"

Rey regarded the carton's half dollar-sized rations, their normal shades of green tainted by a pinkish hue from the unusual marinade in her lap. I can do this.

"Nope," Rey grimaced, drawing in a breath to recite the terms, "just one bite and that's it."

Ben nodded, exhaling noisily. "Who wants to go first?" He asked guardedly, "Or we could do it together?"

Rey nodded eagerly to the latter offer. "Together," she confirmed, giving the corners of her mouth a sympathetic twitch.

Her eyes reigned dread as Ben collected one of the atrocious slices of sustenance between a forefinger and thumb, his face adopting a mirrored look when Rey settled on a medium-sized, buttery curd. Rey leaned forward, the pungent aroma stinging her nose as she opened her mouth, allowing Ben to gently place the off-colored pickle on her tongue just as Rey did the same to Ben with the buttery curd. It wasn't until her teeth sunk into the greenish cuisine when she felt the tension squirming inside her stomach warp into a knot. Halting mid-chew, she forced herself to bite back the initial wave of nausea crawling up through her esophagus. Ben took on a more pensive appearance, brows furrowed as he chewed.

"This is fucking terrible," Rey spat, swallowing tentatively in fear that the strawberry-vinegar taste trickling down her throat would viciously stroke her gag reflexes. To her relief, she survived the tortuous challenge though the bitter sweet taste lingered after the slice had started digesting. "How's yours?"

Ben considered her, Adam's apple bobbing noticeably as he swallowed. "Honestly?" He shrugged, seeming indifferent. "It tastes like a heavily, buttered-down piece of toast. Do you want one?" He smirked, gesturing the carton of curds to her considerately.

Rey shook her head, face hysterically distorted. "I'll take your word for it," she muttered kindly. "Can we get that elephant ear now?"

Ben chuckled and nodded, gathering their cartons in hand before driving his weight up onto his feet. He extended a hand to Rey, offering her help to stand while she grappled the prized bear by the paw in the other. "Definitely," he promised, hauling Rey with little effort to her full height. "In fact, let's make it two."

By the time Rey made it back to the Solo's ranch with Ben, the hour had long come and went since the fall festivities begrudgingly came to an end. The only traces lingering after the event was the bonfire's golden luminosity radiating from a far-off distance somewhere behind the house, the smoldering glow dimmed by the smoke's foggy haze.

The musky aroma of burning oak and pine ensnared its way into her senses, leaving shadows of its loitering fragrance inside Han and Leia's home. The elderly pair appeared to have just settled down from a long, hard day's work inside the dwelling's main sitting room as Ben ushered Rey in through the front door.

"You're late," Han snarked wryly, drawing a corner of his mouth askew into a half smile towards Rey and Ben as they wandered into the room from the foyer.

"I guess time got ahead of us," Rey repented, her voice hinting trivially of remorse. "How did it go today?"

"Another successful year," Leia chimed in from the overstuffed chair opposite of where Han was sitting. "It appears that the Wattos' corn maze was a favorite in consensus to those that showed up. You also received quite a few compliments regarding your horse and pumpkin theme at the hay mounds, Rey."

Rey beamed at the flattering remark, surprised that neither mentioned the single bale of hay she'd painted of a certain black horse the weekend prior with Sabine. Leia carried on to ask how their evening at the fair went, and listened (with a very silent Han) as Rey explained her first carnival experience. Ben added in his two cents when the topic of eating repulsive fair food was mentioned, leading into a shared laugh with Han.

"Well," Han started before a yawn rudely interrupted, "there's plenty of fire left out back if you two aren't ready to call it an early evening."

"Actually," Leia interjected quickly, rising from her chair with purpose, "hang on just a second before you two go," she urged with a light hand pat to Ben's bicep. She disappeared briefly into the kitchen to retrieve the larger than average-sized gift bag that she emerged with a few moments later. "This is for you, my dear," she stated whilst handing it to Rey.

Rey took a breath, worrying the handles beneath her fingers. "You guys didn't have to do this," she scoffed, diverting equal glimpses amid Han and Leia. "I wasn't expecting anythi–."

"No," Leia cut in pointedly, laying a hand of reassurance along the plain of Rey's shoulder. "It's your birthday, and I think it's more than palpable that you're an official part of our family in more ways than one," she affirmed, allotting a subtle wink to Ben's quiet stance alongside Rey. "Now, open it."

Rey conceded with a sigh, lips firmly pressed into a frown as Leia showed no signs of withdrawing from the offer. Her hand dove into the layers of white tissue paper, retrieving the straw-woven cowgirl hat with a cattleman indentation at the crown. A leather band fabricated from bullhide wrapped around the center, embellished with a single stone made of turquoise along with dozens of smaller pebbles embossing its intricate design.

Rey remained at a momentary loss for words; until Han's gruff voice broke the room's stifling moment of silence, "So, what do you think kid?"

Rey could only stammer over her words, searching for the right expression to confess why tears were suddenly burning the backs of her eyes. Truthfully, it was beautiful, and entirely the last thing she'd expected from either of them.

"It's beautiful," Rey uttered, her voice laden with many other unspoken words that could never do her amount of gratitude justice. She quickly scanned a thumb along the lower lids of her eyes, ridding them of moisture as Leia assisted with positioning the hat over her head.

"Perfect," Leia assured, not realizing she'd unwittingly wrung the exact term from Ben's thoughts.

He'd spent the remainder of their time inside the house deliberating how he wanted to tell Rey the same term of endearment, but in a more different aspect. The infuriating battle remained long after the moment he and Rey had claimed their seats on the grass before the fire, though the continuation of his prolonged silence never went unnoticed.

"You never did tell me what you thought," Rey murmured, peeling her eyes from the embers trailing off each individual flame to look at Ben. "About how I looked in the hat," she explained, briefly gesturing a hand to the hat lying opposite from where he was sitting to her.

Ben lowered his chin, veering his initial focus from the fire to the inferno that softly burnished her irises. His eyelids seemed to grow heavier for every second the words remained unsaid. Finally, he could feel the phrase slip through his slightly parted lips, taking up form in that of a whisper when he spoke. "You look beautiful."

The words brought new flourishing warmth to her cheeks and chest, and not the sort that was typically warranted from sitting within a reasonable distance from a bonfire. It was how Rey always felt whenever Ben looked at her in that way: an emotional urge that could no longer remain contained.

The dilated pupils of her eyes disappeared beneath the tresses of her eyelashes, encouraging Rey to raise her chin slightly as Ben lowered his face closer to hers. The former steady beat of her heart began to drum at a pace more rapid as her eyes wilted to the sensation of Ben skimming his bottom lip over hers, enticing her lips to part before he sealed the kiss.

Rey had anticipated many things when it came to experiencing her first kiss, but not this – not the inexplicable toll that his lips rendered over her. He'd awakened a whole new emotion of sentiment she never knew could be felt towards another person: one that seemed worthy to explore had his lips not parted from hers. A sigh eluded from her lips as the peak of their noses brushed before Ben pressed his forehead to hers, cupping the incline of her jaw with his hand.

"That was the first kiss that you deserved," Ben admitted huskily, stroking his thumb over her cheek.

It took a little longer for Rey to realize what he was implying, her mind too busy marveling in the present to consider Ben believed Poe to be the one that had kissed her first. She drew her face back from his, lips conferring a smile that immediately told him otherwise.

"It wasn't him," Rey whispered, raising a hand to the shallow basin of his neck and shoulder. "It was you, like it was always meant to be."

Ben regarded her quizzically, allowing his mind to fully absorb what it was that his ears were hearing. He grinned wildly when the notion finally sunk in that he had been her first. Rey nodded and divulged a laugh as Ben cradled her face with his hands, compelling her lips into a kiss more ardent than the first.


	14. Nothing But the Truth

Having to consult with a student after they'd been caught cheating was the most guaranteed (and most frustrating) concept for any educator to face on a daily basis throughout the school year. That goes to say for tests and homework assignments in subjects that ranged everywhere from Math to Language Arts to a class as simple as Agriculture. Out of the entire six years he'd been teaching it was what Ben hated dealing with the most.

It wasn't the students whom he despised. They were the easiest to discuss the subject matter with for the most part, due to their lack of concern for failing a class as seemingly insignificant as Agricultural Science, or so they would mention at times. They would generally accept the fat F marked on their test paper and disingenuously promise to keep roaming eyeballs secured to their own work from then on out. The issue would eventually rise again, and it would only be a matter of rinse, lather and repeat.

The parents of said cheater were those that seemed to favor making his life a fundamental living Hell as an educator. There were very few in between whom Ben was able to recall having effectively challenged his decision by claiming he was purposely failing their child, while Hux mediated the war between worlds inside his office.

During most cases Hux gladly took over the conversation on Ben's behalf, with perseverance that Mishawaka High's dignity wouldn't be lost to its most notoriously-known teacher. Unfortunately, today was one of those days where Ben continuously questioned how much longer he was willing to suffer this irrelevant life of living inside a classroom and go back to what he loved doing most.

But even the initial thought of returning to that former aspiration at his father's ranch incited more tension to the headache threatening the backside of his temples. It only made Ben more irritable after he'd successfully caught remnants to a few choice phrases projecting through the pinholes of Hux's administrative phone, belonging to the feminine voice badgering at the opposite end.

After pondering ways he could physically strangle someone through the electronic device, the tremor extending from the iPhone inside his pocket diverted Ben to a more sound voice of reason: one that he longed to see the owner of rather than having to sit out the third hour's passing period inside Hux's office.

 **– Rey Kanata –**

Where are you?

Ben's eyes warily ascended from the phone being held at his side to Hux, concerning the obvious that he seemed too deeply engrossed in the conversation to notice that Ben was holding his attention elsewhere. While the pasty ginger remained occupied with the shrieking banshee on the phone, and rigidly absorbed in the mutual stare down with the image of a domesticated feline on the monitor of his Dell desktop, Ben went about replying to Rey's message.

 **– Ben Solo -**

Got sent to the principal's office

 **– Rey Kanata –**

Everything okay?

Ben heaved a drawn-out sigh, allotting his eyes to slowly skim over the words in Rey's message.

 **– Ben Solo –**

Nothing out of the ordinary for the job of a teacher

 **– Rey Kanata –**

That's a relief

I thought something might've happened…

 **– Ben Solo –**

Like what?

 **– Rey Kanata –**

That you were in trouble for something else…

Ben frowned at the text, knowing precisely what Rey was imploring without having to ask. A few weeks had passed since their initial kiss at the fire. Now it was considerably uncommon for them to not steal a kiss that lingered for more than a few moments before (and after) class.

The stakes had now grown significantly higher for them both, concerning the risk of having an eavesdropper lingering outside Ben's classroom. However, with being the least occupied sector out of the entire school, the odds of not being caught continued to remain in their favor.

 **– Ben Solo -**

Everything's okay

I promise

 **– Rey Kanata -**

Okay…

 **– Ben Solo –**

Try to hold down the fort until I get back

 **– Rey Kanata –**

Are you saying I'm in charge?

Oh, the things that I could do…

Ben smirked, thumb aimed to reply though it was the haughty laugh that Hux conferred into the receiver that alerted his ears, acknowledging the principal's parting words from the discussion.

"I'm glad that we were able to get this settled, Mrs. Millicent," Hux professed to the feline image on the monitor, granting the concealed woman at the other end of the line a satisfied grin. "Sure, and to you as well."

 **– Ben Solo –**

I've gotta go

"We finally have an agreement," Hux boasted aloud, discarding the phone to its docking place with an uncaring drop.

"And?" Ben questioned arduously, ignoring the somber grimace from Hux while returning the iPhone to its former place in his pocket.

Hux regarded him furtively, lips tightly sealed, elbows running parallel along the edge of his desk. "I take it that you didn't listen to a single word that had been discussed, did you?"

Ben shrugged, propping an ankle upon his knee. "You appeared to be handling it well enough as it was," he uttered dryly whilst folding his arms over his chest. "I figured that my attention wasn't necessarily needed."

Hux stared impassively for a moment. "This was your problem to begin with, Solo – not mine," he hissed in return. "I merely just saved your ass."

Ben felt a nerve twitch beneath his eyes, coaxing them into a hardened glare. "A problem that stemmed from a student that couldn't keep his eyes on his own fucking test," he sneered, adhering to the situation in an afternoon class the day before.

"Just – calm the fuck down," Hux brusquely insisted, maintaining the composed expression on his face while his hands gestured in motion from the desk top. "She was actually quite a pleasant person to converse with if you would've been able to compose yourself a little more."

"She called me an insufferable prick," Ben snorted, considering the irony of the words he'd once referred to when describing Kylo. Perhaps the ill-tempered Morgan was his spirit animal after all.

"You were being an insufferable prick," Hux concluded briskly, the precision in his voice left no room for further debate.

"Just tell me what this grand settlement of yours is, Hux," Ben huffed, rolling his jaw. "I have a class to return to in case you weren't aware already."

"If you would've been paying attention in the first place I wouldn't have to repeat myself now, would I?" Hux scolded, levitating a stiff brow at a rising thought. "What the hell was so damn important anyway?"

"The agreement, Hugs," Ben sighed, reminding him of the previous topic. At least it was easy to deflect having to enlighten more on why he reverted to messaging his – untitled significant other – rather than listening to Maleficent on the phone. Or was it Madicent?

Hux drew in a long breath through his nostrils, reeling in what few of the relics that remained of his patience. "She requested that the kid be allowed to retake the test," he articulated in a more sober tone, readying for the storm that was surely about to come. "And I agreed that we could certainly permit the student to this one-time deal."

Ben remained jarringly silent, incense simmering the blood beneath his flushed cheeks. "You did what?" He growled darkly even though he was wholly aware of what the man had said a few moments ago. Ben lolled his head back in disbelief, burrowing the pads of his fingers beneath his glasses into his eyes, hoping to ease the tension prodding the forefront of his skull. "Jesus fucking Chri–."

"She threatened to take matters up with the school board," Hux interrupted mid-slur. "I know you heard her from the beginning. Is that what you wanted to happen? Dameron would've adhered to her proposal if I wouldn't ha–."

"I couldn't give two flying fucks what Dameron would've had to say about this," Ben seethed whilst heaving his hands to his lap, paying no mind to the sharp sting that the gesture exerted onto his skin. "God damnit, you know this is wrong!"

"It's just a retake, Solo," Hux uttered carefully. "If the kid is that damn desperate to cheat he'll more than likely fail again anyway."

Ben took a calming breath, eyes closing with the notion. "That's not the point," he pressed unwaveringly, gesturing a hand outright. "Allowing him to retake it isn't helping him learn any lessons from this. Those answers were word-for-word what the other student had written. He even included the fucking smudge in the middle of the sentence from the other's pencil lead breaking. "

How ironic to be second-guessing the school's methods of handling cheaters when you're ridiculously head-over-heels with one of its students, Ben thought; however that was one double standard he intended to keep to himself.

Hux snorted and shook his head, clearly amused. "Then you should have no problems failing him again," he added reassuringly. Before Ben had the chance to counter with another remark Hux intercepted the words from his lips, leaving Ben's hands officially tied. "Look," Hux started, leaning his torso further over his desk, "I don't wanna have to take you to Dameron myself, but if she wants to continue being a pain in the ass about this she can take this up with the school board."

"I wouldn't give a shit if he was the fucking Queen of England," Ben quipped. "Him being head of the school board shouldn't affect the outcome of a student blatantly cheating."

"I get it," Hux assured, reclining further into the padded backing of his chair, "and it fucking sucks. But if you don't do this, then I'm afraid you'll be leaving me with no choice."

"Hey," Rose scoffed, noting the dazed and faraway look that her friend had upon her face, "Earth to Rey. Are you home?"

Rey flinched, blinking awake from her trance she'd drifted into subconsciously while waiting for the lunch line to move. It occurred to her then, apparently, they hadn't moved since diving into her mind's own form of la-la land. "What?" She asked, clearing her throat and hugging her torso.

"I've been talking to you and you haven't so much as acknowledged me with a blink," Rose mused. She cocked her head, mirroring Rey's current stance as a smile slowly spread over her face. "What's up?"

What's up? What's wrong? Depending whatever phrase that one preferred to use Rey had been constantly looping the never-ending series of questions to herself since Ben returned to class, claiming he'd been meeting with Hux in his office. After attempting to pry him for answers all Rey could think of was that the 'nothing' he'd replied with was indeed something that had to have stemmed from a very unpleasant principle.

It wasn't necessarily unusual for Ben to be a little extra on-edge during class; especially, when a couple students on the football team found it reasonably entertaining to fling chunks of clay and dirt from one end of the greenhouse to the next after Ben had to step away to retrieve something from the classroom.

Needless to say, Rey had never seen a teacher so pissed off at two students out of the duration of her entire educational career when he returned, finding patches of mud splattered all around the conservatory's interior. She was certain she'd seen a vein or two penetrate through the first layer of skin over his forehead, and how much harder it was for him to keep his temper reeled in before sentencing the two reckless offenders to after school detention: cleaning the windows of the greenhouse no doubt.

But was a little bit of dirt really enough to have set off the short end of his fuse? Like, could it have possibly been because Hux somehow discovered their secret relationship? And if so – how? However the more Rey pondered the likelihood of that having been the case, the chances of Ben still withholding a teaching position at Mishawaka High were probably at a zero on a scale of one to ten.

So what the fuck was the problem? Besides the fact that her stomach monster was growling more violently than ever yet nothing sounded appealing enough to eat.

"I don't know," Rey muttered, looking down at the point of her shoe that was toeing the linoleum floor in the commons. She winced, giving a discouraged jab into the ground a little harder than she'd intended to.

Rose considered her, reining confusion in her expression. "You don't know?" She parroted. "Why?"

Again, why?

Why couldn't she just admit to Rose what was going on between her and Ben, like she'd done with Sabine? Having someone to talk to outside the ranch whenever problems arose in paradise would be nice. But that would only wind her back to square one, and having to worry if her best friend would blab by accident to the wrong person. Rey couldn't fathom the thought of Ben getting fired (or something far worse) for a momentary act of recklessness on her behalf, and she was confident she'd never be able to forgive herself if that were to ever happen.

So, forever her lips would remain sealed until the day came where things would be a lot less complicated to confess, making the concept of having to continuously grasp a hold of straws for depleted excuses that much harder.

Rey stabbed her tongue into the side of her cheek, piquing deftly through every odd numbered nerve ending as the lunch line slowly motioned forward, drawing them closer to the buffet that was rumored to be serving beef and noodles with mashed potatoes and corn.

What about telling Rose the partial truth? Like the little things about Ben that her aunt knew without giving away his complete identity? That could work. And it might be enough to figure out what to do.

"I kind of met someone," Rey confessed. Her lips curled between her teeth as a subtle blush crept over her cheeks. She gave a shrug when Rose conferred staggered eyes that resembled moons.

"What!" Rose squealed, adding more onto the pre-existing shade of red tinting Rey's face. "When did this happen? Where did you guys meet?"

Here, Rey thought, obviously unable to mention the real time and setting that she and Ben had met. She begrudgingly settled for the next best in location. "At this ranch that I've been working at during the weekends," she explained.

Rose fluttered her eyelashes rapidly, seeming puzzled over the admission. "A ranch," she repeated, not necessarily meaning it as a question. "But I thought Finn said that you were working at Weaver's now?"

Fuck!

"I was," Rey promptly conceded; shuffling her feet as the lunch line began to move at a steadier pace. "But the opportunity came up when a friend mentioned it in Ag that their parents were looking for help. So," she shrugged again, "I figured it wouldn't hurt to give it a try."

Rose's head wavered from side-to-side, appearing to weight the concept in her thoughts before deeming the job one that seemed idealistic. It was enough to make the heaviness lodged inside Rey's chest to subside; now that Rose had accepted another half-assed alibi.

"Look at you being all cowgirl–ish," Rose teased, giving Rey's arm a suggestive bump with her elbow. "So you're dating a cowboy now, huh? Is he hot? Does he have a nice ass?"

Rey shook her head and laughed, planting a palm haphazardly over her face. "Yes, Rose," she affirmed, "he has a very nice ass. And I would hardly call myself a cowgirl. I've only gotten to ride a horse once."

"So is that what you're calling him now?" Rose goaded with a wink, enabling Rey to feel the heat scourging her ears and neck. "Wait – have you guys even kissed yet?"

Rey worried her bottom lip and nodded, earning another inconsolable squeak from Rose. "I'm so happy for you!" She cried, bouncing on the soles of her moccasins like a fully wound-up children's toy. "Holy shit, I'm so excited. This is awesome!" Her eyes quickly adopted a look of realization. "So, what was the earlier problem about then?"

"That's just it," Rey sighed, hating to be the downer to her friend's high in excitement, "I don't know. But I know that something was really bothering him when I last talked to him, but –."

"But he uses every excuse under the sun to tell you that nothing's wrong?" Rose interrupted with a brow prominently cocked. She rolled her eyes when Rey allotted a slow nod, adhering to the pilfered words. "Guys are kinda funny in that sense. They like to clam up about their feelings instead of talking. It's annoying as fuck sometimes, but they'll come around eventually."

Rey pressed her lips into a slight grimace, wavering to smile at Rose's reassurance as the line drew rapidly closer to ease her stomach's earlier strike against hunger. She took the next few moments to set all conflicting thoughts of Ben's unknown predicament aside, and put forth the effort into deciding if lunch would be beef and noodles or a hardy-loaded potato soup from the salad bar.

By the time she'd paid for the little bowl of potato chunks, laden with shredded cheese and bacon bits on top, Rey decided to break apart from her usual late-morning routine of eating with friends and join Ben in his own private sector of the school.

"Hey, where you going?" Rose called, noticing Rey traveling the opposite direction of where their group was sitting.

"Book club," Rey fibbed, pausing to enlighten Rose more on the nonexistent gathering of bookworms. "It's usually in the afternoons, but I was told last week that we'd be having it today during lunch since many of us can't make it after school."

"Oh," Rose uttered, scrunching her nose at the so-called event. "Okay, well, I'll see you in Trig I guess? And I expect to have some more juicy details about this new guy," she added pointedly, meriting a smile from Rey that beamed with promise.

After a morning that'd seemingly gone straight to Hell right off the bat, getting to see Rey during that painfully short fourth hour class had assisted in helping relieve Ben of his earlier foul mood. At least, it had for a moment before she left to carry-on with the rest of her day, while he tended to a career he'd started to resent having even more by the minute.

Truthfully, Mishawaka High had never felt more like a prison to him than it did that day: more than the penitentiary he'd sentenced himself to in his thoughts after the accident at his parents' ranch. Now, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd made a horrible mistake to turn away from taking over their homestead should that time ever come. And it only took meeting Rey for him to start second guessing that life he so desperately wanted to leave before pursuing the one he'd been living in the current.

New questions he'd never considered asking had begun to rise, making it that much harder to concentrate on preparing his next lecture to a class that probably wouldn't give two shits to hear what he had to say to begin with but the queries seemed to be worth addressing.

What would happen to the few workers that had already dedicated so much of their lives into helping his parents? And the land? The horses? And, most importantly, what would become of Kylo? He was certain that no boarding place in the entire county would ever accommodate a horse with such a lucid temper and special needs. The ongoing conflict only managed to enhance the problems that were holding his wrists bound together at the school.

"Hey."

Ben lifted his head that'd been cradled in his hands at his desk, surprised to see Rey holding a bowl he recognized to be from the cafeteria buffet line-up.

"Rey," he breathed, blinking away the momentary state of surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I figured you could use a little bit of company," Rey smiled, setting her bowl of potato soup in front of him on the desk. She pivoted just enough to hoist herself up on the tabletop, planting herself happily to the area that was lacking stacks of homework and tests to be graded. "You know, since you were in such a good mood earlier?"

Ben snorted; leaning forward so that his elbow nudged the outer part of her knee on his desk after Rey took the bowl of clumpy mush into her palms. "My problems are far from being yours right now," he assured gently. "And the last thing that I want to do is bore you with them."

"Try me," she insisted, taking a scoop of the clumpy white sustenance into her mouth.

Ben considered her grimly. "I'd rather hear something about your day," he confessed. "Mine's just been the typical bullshit that comes with the label of being a teacher."

"So," Rey started, fingering the handle of her spoon, "what happened this morning really wasn't about Hux finding out about – us?"

Ben gave her a knowing look. "Rey, I've told you before: if he knew anything I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you right now," he paused, knitting his brows. "Is that why you're here?"

Rey swallowed heavily and nodded, lips twitching at the corners. "I was worried that something might've happened," she admitted, fingering the handle of her spoon. "I think about that a lot."

Ben's chest shuddered through a sigh, making a trivial effort to suppress the sinking feeling in his gut that her words had triggered. "Rey, I don't want this to affect your life here. It would be selfish of me to deny that I think about how this affects you more than it does myself."

"But it does hurt you more," Rey affirmed, discarding the bowl of food to the side. "I care about you, Ben. And I don't know how I would feel if something would happen becau–."

"Rey," Ben interrupted firmly, a notion that he rarely ever did when she spoke. "I am not going anywhere. And I want you to believe me when I say that what happened this morning has nothing to do with you. But if it makes you feel any better, then I'll tell you that it was just the school implementing a policy that I found to be bullshit when it comes to students cheating on tests." It was the partial truth, but the more important aspect that he hoped would satisfy her worry while he figured the remnants out at a later date.

Rey heaved a sigh in relief, eyes wilting with the brief gesture. "I do believe you," she uttered, offering him a coy smile. "I'm sorry for being ridiculous."

Ben shook his head, "I understand, but it's not worth worrying about when I'm still here."

Rey nodded. "I know," she concurred.

Ben nodded crisply and licked his lips, eyes dropping to her mouth as Rey did with his. She leaned over at the same time that he rose from his chair, just enough to meet with a firm kiss in the middle. Rey breathed a sigh over his lips, the kiss lingering longer than usual. Every worry they had up until that moment levitated from their shoulders, leaving only them, and the hungry need to taste more than what time typically allotted for during the day.

Rey cupped her hand to his jaw as Ben draped an arm over her lap. His fingers began to knead her waist at the moment he felt her tongue skim along the crevice of his lips, imploring to explore more of how he tasted, wanting to feel more of how he felt. His lips faintly parted, allowing their tongues to finally intermingle and they groaned, low and slow in satisfaction at the sweltering taste of the other; both wanting more than what the awkward position was allowing them to achieve.

She threaded her fingers through the sides of his hair, her head inclined back as Ben slowly rose from his seat. Her legs parted, welcoming him to stand in between, breaking the kiss just for a second. His eyes were as equally laden with yearning as Rey's, and he eagerly claimed her mouth as she cradled her hands around the back of his neck, his fingers firmly gripping her hips.

Rey's hands undecidedly roamed along his shoulders, over his back and returned to easily rest on his chest. Her breathing grew unsteady, thoughts variably erratic as Ben broke the kiss, awarding her with wet, heated kisses from the incline of her jaw and down her neck. A whimper softly eluded her lips when he came upon a sensitive patch of skin along the shallow valley of her shoulder and neck, alerting her of the warmth budding at the core between her legs.

A smug grin played over his lips. His cock twitched as his tongue alternated its task, licking and sucking in the spot he now discovered to be her weakest, her skin tasting just as sweet and honey-like as her lips. His hands ascended from her waist and up her sides, coming to a stop on her ribs. He grazed his thumbs along the bottom swell of her breasts, and Rey's fingers anxiously began to fidget with the lower buttons of his shirt.

Rey was certain that she would've completed her seemingly complicated mission had the bell not rang, abhorrently loud to their ears. Their attention had been so fixed on the moment before fourth period had been officially marked over that Rey couldn't suppress the yelp from escaping her lips, earning an amused chuckle from Ben.

"I – uh," Rey breathed, unable to focus properly on what she wanted to say at first. She bit her lip, eyes lowering from his to her fingers that remained on his shirt. "I guess my excuse for this book club was well spent."

Ben scoffed, chest still heaving slightly from the few moments of exertion. "What?"

Rey raised her chin again, seeing the confusion glazing his eyes and – hurt? Her stomach faltered and sunk, immediately realizing her mistake. "Ben, I –."

"What have you been saying, Rey?" He asked, leaving no room for unnecessary excuses.

Rey shook her head, blinking, enough for Ben to realize without her having to say that she'd been lying.

"I've been telling my friends that I've been coming to a book club as an excuse to see you," Rey confessed, bearing a look of shame written all over her features as the words came tumbling from her lips. "And my aunt thinks that you're just an average worker at the ranch."

Ben lowered his hands to the desk, the difficulty to breathe no longer being from exertion, but with guilt that he'd inadvertently given her the impression to go through such drastic measures for them to be together.

"I only did it because I didn't want the pieces to come pointing back to you," she began to ramble. "I'm so sorry. I swear, I'm trying to figure this out without making it sound like I'm intentionally hurting you."

Ben regarded her, expression softening. "No more lies," he urged gently, shaking his head. "Don't make it harder than what it already is. Please."

Rey nodded, knowing what she had to do.


	15. Friction

Very few occasions had occurred in life where Rey admitted to being afraid of telling the truth. For starters, there was the afternoon where she had accidentally backed Maz's station wagon into a light pole, which she claimed to have appeared from outer space inside the parking lot of an Orlando Wal-Mart. That was before her guilt took over later that evening, and Rey found herself breaking down on bended hands and knees to beg Maz for her forgiveness.

Then, there was the unfortunate mishap of throwing Maz's honeycomb, wool-knitted sweater into the dryer: one that Rey's father had gifted her aunt the Christmas before his passing. Not only had it come to be a surprise that Maz's reaction to her confession turned out to be better than she'd anticipated, but Maz had reassured her that the garment had never fit properly to begin with. Maz wound up re-gifting it to her after.

But Ben wasn't the bumper to a car with a significantly-sized dent lying smack dab in the center, nor was he a notably, shrunken wool sweater that had been thrown into the dryer by mistake.

So, how does one go about fixing all of the lies that'd been told, while _not_ jeopardizing the life of the person whom she'd come to develop sentimental feelings for? It was a question she hoped Sabine would shine a little light upon after insisting she treat Rey to a belated birthday outing; which had been spent searching for the perfect costume Rey was to wear to the rapidly approaching Halloween dance being held at Mishawaka High within the next coming week.

Since Maz reluctantly traded in her day-shift hours for those on nights, Rey had more than enough time to kill before she was due to arrive at Ben's later that evening. Informing her aunt of the earlier half of her Friday night plans had been the easier of the two ideas she planned to confess in hopes of earning a few brownie points towards redemption.

It was after Rey admitted her intent to stay the night with him (for convenience purposes of course), since they would be going to the ranch early the next morning, when she'd been most certain that Maz was toying with the thought of strapping her into some modern day chastity belt; even though Rey had been on the pill for the last two years.

It took all but selling her soul to Hades to assure Maz that she was wholly aware of the birds and the bees, indeed having her fingers crossed under the table when having to promise not to go beyond the line of holding hands marked on her sixth grade abstinence card.

At least it'd been the lesser of her frustrations for the day, considering her and Sabine had gone to just about every Halloween store in town, and left empty-handed. That was when Sabine officially declared it time to make a coffee run at _Starbucks_ andtreated Rey to a much needed double chocolate chip frappuccinoFrappuccino, along with Sabine's usual heated caramel macchiato, before making their final stop at Halloween Plus in University Park Mall.

"You know, if it comes down to it you could just throw a white, twin-sized sheet over your head and cut out a couple holes for eyeballs," Sabine teased as they both claimed a heavily-cushioned seat next to the window inside the café's half-empty lounge. "You could go as that little ghost from Charlie Brown. It'd be cute."

Rey snickered; though the suggestion made her upper lip curl distortedly after considering how many times she'd more than likely trip over her own two feet, making it obvious that she saw the idea in a different light. "That may make it just a bit too difficult to see and dance in though," she countered.

Plus, she didn't want to look _cute_ ; she wanted to look nice: sexy even. Well, as much as the school would allow her without ending up on Hux's shit list like Rose at least. She told Sabine just as much, and watched her friend's brows wrinkle as Sabine procured a sip from her grande-sized, caffeinated beverage.

"You could also tie the sheet around you and make it into some feministic, toga outfit," Sabine suggested, brow cocked. "You could go as some Greek goddess or something, like Persephone."

"I doubt Persephone would've worn a sheet," Rey snorted, swirling the straw in her drink to blend the whip cream more in with the rest of the cup's content. "But the thought is intriguing?"

"Why don't you just ask Ben to coordinate something with you?" Sabine proposed, giving her shoulders a casual shrug. "I'm assuming since he's part of the faculty that he'll be a chaperone or something."

Rey furnished her a knowing look, appearing less optimistic. The proposal had come to her attention periodically since the dance had been announced at school earlier that week. At first, she initially had no intention making an appearance at the informal event when she wasn't able to truly spend the evening with the person she wanted to attend with.

That was before Rose coaxed her into going, and Rey had to come up with more excuses for why her date wasn't able to make it; even though Ben would very much be present in the same auditorium. Because what was Rey supposed to say? _Sorry, my date is actually here but I can't make it obvious since he just happens to be a teacher at the school?_

"You don't think it would be too obvious?" Rey contented, a disgruntled huff eluding her lips as she mulled over Sabine's suggestion, making her cheeks dramatically puff in the act. "Cause what are the odds that a student's costume corresponding with one of a teacher's wouldn't draw attention?"

Sabine scoffed at her drink, measuring the outcome to every possibility lying behind the truth of Rey's inquiry. "Do you really think that anyone would care to put much thought into it though?" She countered. Her eyes levitated to Rey, furbishing a curved brow with the question. "I mean – based on my own experiences in high school most of the students around me didn't give two shits what the other was doing. But that's also if you weren't a part of some super popular clique. It's easy to be invisible, otherwise."

"True," Rey sighed, cradling her chin with the palm of her hand. "I guess I'm thinking that it may be a bit too obvious if we were to dress as – say Wendy and Peter Pan. I just don't want to draw too much attention towards us if it's something that can be avoidable."

Rey pondered the thought of seeing Ben in a pair of tight spandex pants. If only the notion didn't have to remain a fantasy confined to her head…

"Why?" Sabine asked, her expression adopting a genuine look of concern. "Are people having their suspicions?"

"No," Rey grimaced, uncertain of the response. "Well, at least none that I know of? But I did tell one of my friends that I was seeing someone, and I'm just afraid that she'll end up putting two and two together at some point before the year is over," she grumbled. "She's a little too observant in that sense."

Sabine nodded, gliding her tongue along the inner pocket of her bottom lip. "What about Ben? Have you talked to him about it?"

"Yes," Rey scoffed, allotting a much needed sip from the cup of frappe. She proceeded to enlighten Sabine on the events that'd led up to the current predicament, leaving out details that concerned the heated session with Ben from the other day of course. She confessed to every fib that'd been told to keep their relationship at the maximum level of secrecy around home and school. Then, there was his 'no more lies' declaration that'd recently rendered Rey's mentality into a minor state of limbo.

"That's such a Ben Solo thing to do," Sabine snorted. Her head shook along with the casual roll of her eyes. "Always acting in ways that can end up causing more harm than actual good. There are times where it's nice to think before you speak: Ben tends to not get that on occasion even though he's fucking smart as hell."

"So what do I do?" Rey asked, eyes articulating her desperation. "Should I just tell my friends and aunt that we're dating?"

Sabine drew in a sharp breath, hesitating at first to respond to Rey's question. She deliberated over the issues that existed within such a susceptible matter: one that, unfortunately, involved her oldest friend, and the other she'd attained through Ben. Silently weighing all of her choices, Sabine permitted a long taste of her growing lukewarm beverage prior to coming up with an answer deemed suitable enough to help ease Rey's anxiety.

"Okay, I get where both of you are coming from with this," she started, straining a few of the initial words from having swallowed her drink a moment ago. "And I'm not exactly sure _how much_ of the truth that Ben wants you to admit, _but_ you could be a little less extra on the pointless details when someone asks about you guys. Like…," she paused, drawing out the word whilst searching for an example, "if someone was to ask where you're going next time when you want to visit him outside of his class, simply say that you have something to tend to in Agriculture and leave it at that. They don't need to know the details beyond it."

Rey arched her brow. "Wouldn't that just make them question it even more?"

"And a book club that's nonexistent doesn't?" Sabine snorted, baring an amused smirk as the remark extracted a look of realization from Rey. "Obviously, it's important that you don't make these visits a routine habit. Then people _will_ start to question what the hell is going on." Her expression slowly manifested a more solemn appearance. "And this bullshit with him saying that this hurts you more than it does him: Ben couldn't be any more wrong. He has everything to lose, and he's putting that aside because he cares about you, Rey. More than I've ever seen him care about anyone else since – well, since a _very_ long time. This is a very, very dangerous line that you guys are walking right now. Just – please be careful, and choose wisely who you can trust."

Rey considered her for a moment. "I care about him too, Sabine," she whispered, curving her lips into a smile. "A lot, actually."

Rey's phone chirped from an interior pocket of her satchel, alerting the arrival of a received instant message.

"Ben?" Sabine asked, inclining her chin to acquire a fair amount of the caramel-tasting latte, hindering her view of Rey's nod.

"Yeah, just wanting to know if I wanted to see a movie tonight," Rey explained, rapping her thumb lightly along the screen of her phone.

"Oh! We'll be at the mall anyways. You could just meet him at the one there. It's pretty nice…and dark in the back row if you know what I mean," Sabine concluded with a wink.

"I would never do such a thing," Rey countered with a shake of her head, her tone betraying the words.

"Yeah," Sabine quipped after a not so subtle 'pft' eluded her lips. "Oh!" She gasped, slapping a hand above her knee. "Holy shit, I just had a thought. Sorry, totally random, but I just remembered that I have a Red Riding Hood costume at home that you would look amazing in. That's also if you don't happen to find anything at the mall."

Rey grinned redolently, bottom lip drawn beneath an incisor. "Ben would make an amazing wolf," she replied thoughtfully, "I think it's safe to say that a majority of the students don't necessarily consider him being teacher of the year."

Sabine flashed a toothy smile and nodded. "See, he already makes the perfect big bad wolf."

* * *

"A wolf," Ben scoffed; lowering his chin from the theater's display of 'Now Playing' posters outside University's theater to Rey, a brow prominently arched. "You're really going to make me wear fluffy ears and a tail?"

Rey shrugged and pulled her arms into a fold over her chest. "Well, there was a pretty cute Tinkerbell outfit at Halloween Plus that I almost got."

His other brow rose to meet its twin. "So why didn't you get it?"

Rey cocked her head, converting the innocence on her face to be more expressive. "Because – good ol' Tink needs her Peter Pan to keep her company in Neverland, doesn't she?"

Ben pondered the notion, establishing his revulsion upon the discovery of what Rey had been hinting towards. "There's no way in hell you're getting me to wear tights."

Rey giggled. "Come on," she teased, "it wouldn't be _that_ bad. You're – uh," she blushed, gesturing at the sector beneath his belt, "– stuff would be hidden by the tunic."

"I'm not having my shit on display for the entire portion of the student body to see," Ben grumbled.

"It wouldn't be on display," Rey shook her head and laughed, harder than the previous. "You're being way too dramatic," she accused sweetly.

"I'll chalk up my dignity loss for the night and go with the tail and ears," Ben affirmed, ignoring her eye roll and reverting back to the wall lined with framed, colorful posters of recent movies that'd just arrived in theaters. "Anyways, what movie are you in the mood for?"

"I think I'm officially over my limit of making decisions for the day," Rey wearily expressed with a sigh. "I don't care. I'm happy with whatever you choose."

Ben gnawed at a trivial portion of his cheek, carefully regarding their choices. " _Halloween_ or _Venom_?" He asked, his eyes deflecting to Rey's once again for the final verdict.

Rey puckered her brows at the selection, perceiving the choice in films as if he was expecting her to make a life-changing decision. Which, compared to having multiple failed attempts of finding a suitable costume with Sabine that day, it was certainly the easiest resolution she'd been asked to make. She cocked her head from side to side, eliciting a long, drawn-out hum over the notion. "Venom."

"Nice choice," Ben concurred. Splaying a hand along the small of her back, he opened the cinema's main lobby door, allowing Rey to be the first to enter its dimly-lit interior.

The resonance of raucous music and voices playing from previews of films that hadn't been released to theaters in the background mingled with the excited voices of children, excitedly waiting for their chance to see the newest _Wreck it Ralph_ film. It was busy, considerably for a Friday night, and Rey had made it a priority to keep a watchful eye for people she might've recognized from school.

It'd been since her birthday weekend that they'd been able to hang in the public eye together, and making her affection for Ben more public at the fair had been lesser of a risk than at a theater within the same community as their school.

Her fingers grew itchy while waiting in line for the concessions, wishing that she could freely intertwine them with his like the other couples were able to do, and not feel as if she were shaming the person she'd arrived with – even though 'shame' was far from the emotion that Ben was capable of inflicting. But it was important that they keep their relationship status to an ultimate low when being this close to home, and not draw too much attention upon themselves.

Raising her chin askance, she considered his profile, not bothering to look away when Ben took notice of her shameless gawking. His expression was warm and soft; meriting a smile for her reassurance without having to hear her speak of what was troubling her. Rey returned the simple gesture, her knuckles ghosting over the top of his hand. It'd been enough to satisfy her yearning to feel him; except, when her sights settled upon his lips, it was harder to forcefully peel her eyes away and not try to kiss him like she always did.

Of course, that was before she was able to occupy her hands and other senses with the large bucket of popcorn and a pack of Sno-Caps, while Ben carried the drinks.

The screening room for _Venom_ wasn't nearly as crowded as Rey would've guessed it to be. So, she led them up the inclining stairway to the furthest level towards the back of the room, adhering to Sabine's advice and claiming seats where they were able to have a bit more privacy from any roaming eyes sitting in the lower section.

Movie-goers gradually trickled in throughout the duration of early previews and ridiculously lame advertisements. And Rey was finally able to keep her hands and mouth busy pigging out on popcorn paired with pint-sized, chocolate kisses satiated in white sprinkles.

But…

Rey wasn't capable of keeping her attention wholly set on food, or upon Marvel's newest film after Ben drew up the armrest that'd been dividing them, allowing him to feasibly drape an arm over her shoulders. Her head rested comfortably against his chest, fingers happily making themselves at home between the spaces of his free hand that casually resided on the denim covering his upper thigh.

Not willing to pry her head away from its resting place on Ben, Rey levitated her chin so to draw his awareness from the movie down to her, eyes laden with a famine that ceased to be satisfied by any prior ration or sugary-sweet. Considering every occupant seated within the rows ahead of them was utterly focused on watching the movie, it was the perfect moment for Rey to achieve what she'd desired most since she met up with Ben that night.

"You okay?" Ben whispered lowly, eyebrows slightly creased with concern.

Rey swallowed and nodded. "I just wanted to kiss you," she murmured coyly, her flushed cheeks hidden by the corner's darkness.

His brows perked at the admission. "Oh really?" Ben goaded, a smile slowly building at the corners of his lips.

Rey nodded, unashamed of the confession. Her lips parted ever so slightly as Ben lowered his face closer to hers, forcing her neck to recline further back in order to meet his lips. He granted her a series of short, feathery pecks, each lingering longer than the one before, making it apparent that he was just as much uninterested in the movie as she.

Rey freed her hand from his, holding his mouth firmly to hers as she cupped the submergence of his neck and shoulder. Parting his mouth agape, he welcomed the lingering flavor of salt and butter onto his tongue as she skimmed hers along the crevice of his lips. A hand splayed along the small of her back, he coaxed her closer to him, swallowing the soft whimper that eluded her lips.

"Ben," Rey breathed, her bruised lips brushing over his after the sudden need to gasp for air. Her heart battered against her chest, pulverized by the exertion, stimulating her body with a newfound wave of warmth that wound up settling at her core.

Ben nodded, lowering himself further into the seat in order for Rey to climb comfortably onto his lap, a knee straddling either side of his hips. Her fingers wove through the bottom tresses along the nape of his neck, drawing his chin upright so she could eagerly claim his swollen lips with hers. Having his fingers securely gripping her thighs, he rutted his hips against hers, drawing a sharp gasp from their lips as the significant bulge inside his pants provided the friction she needed to ease the throbbing ache between her thighs.

Rey lowered her hands to his shoulders, feeling encouraged to seek the remarkable pleasure that the previous motion elicited. She again rolled her hips over his, both unable to repress the shuddered moans that escaped their lips. Unfortunately, their sounding in unison wound up being louder than they'd likely intended, warranting an irritated 'shush' from a woman seated somewhere within the theater's first few sets of rows.

Embarrassment scourged the tips of her ears and cheeks as Rey remained frozen in place, afraid to glance over her shoulder to see if anyone bothered looking towards them. "Sorry," Rey stammered, bearing an apologetic look to whomever they'd inadvertently disturbed.

Ben's eyes darted off to the side and back to hers, hands remaining glued to her waist. "I think it'd be best if we continue this later," he suggested, meriting a low chuckle from his chest.

"I think so, too," Rey conceded, admitting silently to herself that the movie couldn't end fast enough.

* * *

They stumbled through the front door of Ben's apartment, their lips vigorously sealed as Ben guided Rey over the threshold. Raised upon the toes of her Converse, Rey had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, their mouths fighting for dominance over the other. Having an arm drawn around her waist, he blindly tossed his keys to the side with the other where he guessed the small end table to be in the dark, hearing them slide over the edge of where they'd landed and fall to the living room's carpeted-flooring with a muffled jingle.

She giggled over his lips as he attempted to leave his shoes at the doorway. Not wanting their lips to part, she tried to follow suit without purposely stomping on his toes, though the effort proved to be difficult when neither wanted to pry their mouths away to accomplish such a simple task. So, in an effort to make the notion somewhat easier, Ben pivoted their positions so that Rey was now backed against the wall of the foyer, not minding the thud that she'd made other than the ragged moan that eluded her lips.

"You're going to be the death of me someday, sweetheart," he teased hoarsely, planting a palm to the drywall above her shoulder as they both rid of their shoes in that place.

"In a good way I hope," she murmured, her words nearly silenced as Ben attacked her lips again, groaning his response.

His hands trailed along the subtle curvature of her hips, stringently kneading her ass before hoisting her up without warning. She squealed at the unexpected motion, instincts rendering her legs to tightly fold around his waist, crossing her ankles for extra assurance. He carried her down the short and narrow hall to his bedroom, depositing Rey onto the plush coverlet of his bed. Her thighs released their binding grip around him, though her arms remained grappling his neck, forcing Ben to follow her down.

Rey gave another laugh, not minding the weight of him crumbling down upon her for the moment before he was able to support his weight with a forearm. His lips began to heatedly descend from hers, giving some needed attention to her jaw and neck and collarbone. Rey reclined her head, exposing more of the flesh whilst winding a hand through his hair, the other trailed from his neck to the back of his shoulder.

She mewled contentedly when his lips came upon that tender area along the incline of her neck and shoulder, drawing a gasp from her lips when his hips rutted against hers. His attention remained set on her satisfaction, sucking and circling his tongue over her skin as Rey began to fidget with the buttons of his shirt. It was only after she finally managed to successfully unfasten the last button of his oxford when Ben willingly pulled away. Allowing her to hands to help him rid of the shirt, he tossed it carelessly to the side, shortly joined by her hoodie and t-shirt.

A slow, guttural moan passed between her lips as his crashed onto hers. Her thoughts were an erratic frenzy, and her body shuddered at the sudden warmth of their skin-on-skin contact. Disappointment briefly hung at the forefront of her thoughts as the room's darkness hindered her ability to see him bare for the first time, but it was hard to stay focused on the concept when she had a pair of luscious lips feasting upon hers.

Her fingers tentatively explored the subtle grooves over the muscles of his chest, relying on her sense of touch to be her eyes, and the feelings that he extracted from her as their hips met again in unison, giving her that brief moment of friction needed to arouse that exquisite ache between her legs.

Having his forearm lodged into the mattress to support his weight, Ben lowered a hand to the satin fabric of the bra that covered her chest. Their lips drifted apart, breaking the kiss as his fingers gave her breast a tender squeeze. A shuddered whimper evaded her lips that'd fallen agape.

Closing her eyes, she focused on the delightful sensation it exerted when he repeated the notion, palming her, pulling her attention from the fact that his thumb was coaxing the thick fabric aside to expose her nipple. She relished in the newfound wave of pleasure as Ben took her into his mouth. Her hands snuggly wove their way through his hair, securing a trivial chunk of his tresses within loosely-clasped fists as his tongue toyed with its peak.

His teeth barely skimmed over its sensitive skin as he pulled away, meriting the same amount of tension to the other. A low moan rumbled from his chest as Rey rolled her hips up against his, her hands giving his hair a slight tug at the roots, pleading within heavy panted-breaths of her longing to have his awareness elsewhere.

His lips slowly curved at the notion to which she was imploring, considering his cock was already painfully swollen from the noises she'd proven capable of inducing at what little intimacy they'd been sharing. But Ben wasn't quite set on making the night solely about their individual wants, or needs. As tempting as it was to drive into her and fuck her senseless he also wanted it to be about her, and easing her towards that level he so desperately craved to share with her at some point in the future.

"Patience, sweetheart," he murmured, veering his attention from the previous task, his lips hovering above hers. "We have more than enough time ahead of us to take it slow."

Rey pouted at the reprimand, her hands relaxing their grip in his hair. "But I want to," she scoffed, bringing a hand to the nape of his shoulder as she swallowed heavily. "Unless you don't want to –."

"Don't," he affirmed gruffly, raising a hand gently to her cheek. "Don't even think about saying that because I want this just as much as you do," he assured. "But it's also something that I don't want us to rush. I want you to appreciate it when that happens."

Rey huffed and nodded. "Okay," she sighed, his reassurance bringing a smile to her face. "You're right."

"Good," he replied shortly. "But there are other things we can do until we get to that point."

"Oh, really?" She teased, raising a rigid eyebrow to his silhouette.

Ben lowered his head to pepper kisses down the length of her neck and shoulder, humming his response, he worked his way further to the knoll of her partially concealed breast. Rey lowered her hands to the plain of his back, grazing the blunt tips of her nails along his skin to his shoulders as his mouth descended to the hemline of her jeans.

Slowly, the anticipation of what was to come remained drawn-out as he helped her rid of the unwarranted garments, sending them over the edge of the bed to join the other lone articles of clothing strewn over the floor. He returned to leaving heated kisses from her naveal to the short distance of where the lace presented itself at the top of her panties. He massaged his thumb over the soaked, sheer fabric that covered her clit. Her legs quivered at his touch, unable to repress the cry as he repeated the motion, applying trivial amounts of pressure each time.

"Ben," she whimpered, clenching her bottom lip between her teeth as another moan escaped her lungs. "Please…"

The words were all that he needed to continue. He hooked his thumbs beneath the sides of her panties, slowly urging them from her waist and down her legs. He worked his way back to his mouth's intended destination by bestowing kisses to her ankle, his lips ascending the entire duration of her calf and thigh to purposely draw out Rey's eagerness.

Oblivious to the breath that she'd been holding, she gasped when Ben unexpectedly ran the span of his tongue over the sopping folds of her cunt. A strangled sob escaped her lips as Rey dug her heals into his back after he hiked her legs over his shoulders, securing her hips into a vice-like grip with his hands. He lapped at her vigorously with the entirety of his tongue, his mind wholly intoxicated with her luscious flavor.

A moaned throttled his chest when his lips locked securely around her, his pleasure harmoniously in tune with hers. Perseverance keen on bringing her over the edge of no return, he stroked and prodded her incessantly with his tongue, adding in the motion of applying what little amount of pressure needed to her nub with his thumb that would thrust her towards that of which she desperately sought.

A tremor rippled through her body, extending from the points of her toes to her belly to her head as she raked her fingers through her hair. The rapture of the orgasm rendered Rey blissfully seeing tiny sparks, like fireworks bursting over the backs of her eyelids, the blood rushing to her ears easily droning out her cries.

The moment forlornly came and passed quicker than what she would've liked to admit, but the ending result had been worth it when the descent back to Earth concluded with Ben kissing her gently. If that was his way of taking things slowly, Rey couldn't fathom the thought of how he'd make her feel when that particular time in their relationship came.

"So," Ben whispered, teasing the bottom lobe of her ear with his lips, "was it worth it?"

 _Every fucking minute_ , she wanted to say. However the words failed to leave her lips as her mind remained comatose momentarily after. But the wait had undoubtedly been worth the struggle it'd taken for them to get to that point, and everything that led up to the moment when she'd been able to crawl under the covers with him, wearing only the t-shirt of his that he'd offered.


	16. Healing of Old Wounds

Rey could smell breakfast before she had even stepped out of the shower: freshly fried eggs and sausage, to be exact, with a trace of butter that her senses presumed to be from toast. Breathing in the steam that lingered within the small space that was Ben's master bathroom, her mouth watered as the hearty aroma nipped at her taste buds.

Given the fact that her parental guardian was a renowned workaholic, the times during which she'd been able to recall smelling anything homemade at her apartment were rare. And those few times when Maz did actually cook felt more like a national holiday than the average, every day meal.

She hurriedly wrung the water from her drenched hair with a towel, leaving it to air dry to its natural wave. After dabbing the remainder of her body off, she proceeded to reach for her cheekiest pair of berry-blue boyshorts, brandishing blush-colored hearts from her duffle with an ivory tank. Bending to grab the pair of skinny jeans and hoodie that was left in the bag, a devious grin rippled across her face.

"Then, again, maybe not," Rey murmured and withdrew her hand from the articles of clothing, bearing in mind all that'd transpired between her and Ben the night before.

That fine line of refraining to engage in explicit acts of pleasure had officially been crossed, and Rey wondered how easy it would be to coax Ben into a recap before their trip to the ranch if she were to forego the other items of apparel during breakfast.

She tidied up what she could of her discarded belongings, including the borrowed towel and t-shirt of Ben's, before joining him in the kitchen. Throughout During her brief passing walk down the shortened corridor, leading from the dwelling's bedroom and bathroom to the kitchen and main sitting space, she realized that his apartment was just as plain as the timeline was to his Facebook.

Not much of the décor stemmed beyond the pad's basic necessities. There were a few photographs and blue ribbons nestled inside designated shadow boxes, situated accordingly on top of shelves among books in the 5-tier bookshelf that stood, flanking the sliding door to the balcony.

A rustic-looking entertainment stand along the adjacent wall supported the 50-inch flat-screen television. A spherical-shaped coffee table sat at the center of the charcoal, micro suede sofa and matching loveseat, harboring stacks of ungraded papers and a few agricultural textbooks. Two end tables were stationed at opposing sides of the sofa, each sustaining an hour glass-shaped lamp with an alabaster linen lampshade, matching the hue of the balcony's drawn-open curtains.

Rey made it a mental note to examine the photographs at a closer point range before she and Ben was were expected obliged to leave. Now, her awareness was adhering drawn to the fierce growl that extended from the hollow crater inside her stomach, and to the zesty aroma of breakfast sausage coming from the kitchen to her right. A small island counter, brandishing a pair of barstools, segregated the kitchen space from the rest of the main sitting space.

Ben was standing across from it, shirtless, his back facing her. Regarding Observing how oblivious he remained to her presence as he was busily distributing their food onto individual serving plates, Rey took the opportunity to come up behind him, undetected. Drawing her bottom lip beneath an incisor, she padded her way quietly towards him, eliciting releasing a soft giggle when he flinched as her fingers came in contact with the bare skin of his shoulders.

"Something smells delicious," she purred, conferring soft kisses along the shallow rut between his shoulder blades. "What are you making?"

"Eggs," Ben murmured, unable to oppress suppress his stiffening muscles as her fingers firmly massaged the plain of his shoulders up to the curvature of his neck. When she had finished, she lowered her hands to tunnel between his arms and sides, settling on his chest. It made the simple task of serving scrambled eggs from the skillet appear as if he was engaging in some sort of mad science experiment. "And sausage and toast."

"Sounds perfect," Rey uttered, rising upon her tiptoes to kiss where the exposed vertebrae protruded subtly at the base of his neck. Her lips quirked into a smile when she felt his muscles tremble as she drew her body closer to his, pressing her concealed breasts against the flesh of his back. "You're trembling for some reason."

Ben cleared his throat, consciously aware of how her mixture of words and motions was easily luring his cock into full mass. "Well, you are making it a little hard to concentrate," he chided sweetly from over his shoulder.

"Am I now?" Rey goaded, beaming a devilish smile as she drifted her hands to the waistband of his linen sleep pants. Brazenly, she teased the blunt tips of her nails along the brim. "I can stop if you want me to."

Ben swallowed thickly and shook his head. He started moved depositto depositing the skillet to a bare space on the countertop before Rey seized his forearm firmly with her hand, urging him to cease his movement.

"You can't quit working though," she affirmedcommanded, slipping the fingers of her available hand beneath the bands of his trousers and briefs. "If you stop, I stop."

Ben bit his bottom lip and smirked. "I think I'll take my chances," he stated hoarsely. He suddenly whirled around without warning, scooping Rey up into his arms in a swift, fluid motion.

She gave a startled squeak and laughed as she threw her arms around his neck, legs strongly secured around his waist. He planted her bottom to the island countertop behind her, easing his punishing grip on her thighs once the cool surface came in contact with the bare flesh of her legs.

Now that Ben was able to take in the trivial bit ofskimpy attire she'd chosen to wear, his eyes progressively dimmed from their usual shade of honey to an intense brown. He grinned wolfishly, greedily taking in how the pebbled nubs of her nipples peaked through the thin fabric of her tanktop, and how the tight-knit of her boyshort undies clung mercifully to her upper thighs. It was then, he realized, that he'd developed a newfound fettish for the that particular sort of lingerie.

"Do you have any idea what you do to me?" He growled, his voice eliciting conveying his incensed intense passion. He seized her lips before she was able to reply, drawing her into a needy, vehement kiss.

She moaned contentedly over his lips, savoring the flavor as their tongues intermingled. Her hands blindly gravitated to the sides of his torso, legs remaining wound around his waist. She pressed her heels into the backs of his thighs, urging their bodies closer together. And when the hard bulge of his swollen cock caressed the moist fabric between her thighs, she suddenly longed to experience more of what he'd been holding back the night before.

"You may have to humor me then," she implored breathlessly over his mouth, feigning ignorance over the matter as he broke the kiss.

A low chuckle resounded from Ben's chest, and his attention diverged from her mouth to her neck, prolonging his awareness over areas he remembered to be more susceptible to her satisfactionarousing her gentle sighs. As he drew closer to the nape of her ear, his heated kisses tapered to be less indulgent and gentler.

"As you wish, sweetheart," he whispered huskily into her ear, hands constricting their grasp on her hips.

The way that Ben uttered the words damned her into wanting to feel him more than ever. Goosebumps rippled over the flesh along her neck and shoulders, sending a tremor of chills down her spine to the fervor raging in her mound.

She must've surprised him when she instinctively ground her crotch against the swollen bulge in his pants, regarding eliciting the sharp hiss that she heard escaping his lips. She anticipated expected him to chide her (again) about waiting, encouraginge her to take things slower as he did the night before.

But much to her surprise, this time, he didn't.

Instead, Ben pulled her closer to the edge of the counter, her ass partially sitting on its surface while his hands firmly held her steady. Her arms snaked between his to his back, cupping her hands over the brims of his shoulders.

Their hips rocked in unison, relying onrelishing the friction given byof their clothing and movements for liberation. Rey pressed her forehead to his, the warm air given off bywarmth their stilted breaths merged within the diminutive space that was separating her lips from his. Neither was able to decipher whose throttled cries belonged to whom as they hurdled over the edge into the abyss, clinging to one another as they came.

Ben had to force himself to remain standing, rendering the muscles in his legs comparable to mushbecoming loose and unstable. Firmly planting his palms to the hard surface at either side of Rey, he bore the entirety of his weight onto the hard surface for additional support. Rey maintained her grip on him for a moment longer, head propped against his upper torso, it moved with his heaving gasps for air. Slowly, she calmly skimmed the pads of her fingers down the plain of his back, allotting a series of soft kisses trailing along the jut of his collarbone.

His chuckle sounded hoarse when his senses finally returned to normal, enough to at least press his lips slowly to her shower-dampened hair, muffling his voice. "I think I better shower before I eat."

Rey snickered and nodded. "I'm sorry," she confessed, puckering her bottom lip in guilt.

Ben shook his head, kissing her where his lips were lingering. "I'm not."

* * *

Rey nibbled at her soggy piece of toast in silence, aside from the mellow hums of water running through pipes hidden within the drywall of Ben's apartment. After Ben had went gone through the trouble of making them a delectable breakfast before – well – _before_ their interests deflected strayed to more evocative enjoyable matters, she couldn't find it in her heart to waste something that was still considerablyed edible.

However the sound of her molars incisors gnashing at the cold, buttery slice of yeast provided to be a nice feeble distraction from the fact that it took a ridiculous amount of restraint to _not_ follow him into the bathroom. Why was it so hard notto act like a complete, nonsensical nymphomaniac whenever she was around him?

Unfortunately, the toast was only able to serve its purpose for so long until she'd taken the last bite, which led to her attentiveness attention drifting over towards the bookshelf of books and pictures inside the dwelling's main extent from her seat at one of the island's barstools. Her curiosity wound up driving her to investigate further into that part of Ben's earlier life, which still remained clouded to her knowingeluded her. Because it wasn't necessarily considered 'snooping' if it was blatantly being held on display in plain sight, right?

She quickly deposited her now empty dish inside the dishwasher, stealing gulping down the remaining ounce of orange juice that was left at the bottom of her glass. Arms folded over the front of the hoodie that she'd pulled on before eating, she ambled from the tile- flooring onto the living room's carpet, eyes fixed on the framed photograph that was nestled in a nook up on the highest shelf of a teenage Ben and his horse.

He couldn't have been much older than 16-years of age, but his highly expressive eyes and large ears extending beyond the shorter layers of ravenous hair were dead giveaways that the boy was indeed him. She found herself fawning over how much she adored his somewhat geeky appearance more than she should've been allowed, and mulled at the prominentover the fact that he was significantly scrawnier in those earlier days than the hulk of a man that he'd morphed grown into.

Then, her pupils quickly revertedgaze briefly turned to Kylo, the noticeable scar on his face being the only indication that it was the same horse she visited on a weekly basis. His mane was carefully styled into button braids, a trend fashion commonly used in the English-style show class. She recognized the Morgan's renowned famed sense of pride, holding his head at the utmost highest.

Seeing Kylo in that specific sort of posture reminded Rey of the day when Ben first allowed her to ride him. The more she continued regarding the pair in the image, the more she realized that the only time she saw that glimmer of happiness existed in Ben's eyes was whenever they were at the ranch.

Hands splayed on her knees, she knelt to a crouching position, gaining a better view of the shadow boxes positioned on the lower shelves; although, one in particular had been the first to capture her undivided attention. It was the only image she'd seen where Han was photographed (and standing) alongside a seemingly older Ben, both meriting beaming the same crooked grin that never ceased to make her heart stutter over a normalskip a beat. It also included Kylo in the nearby background, and the blue ribbon, of which represented Ben earned with his's first place win that dayning from that day.

Furrowing her brows, she tentatively reached for the frame and rose to her full height, unaware that the shower was no longer running and that Ben had begun entering the room. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips, recognizing the object that had easily commandeered her interest. He casually cleared his throat, earning a sheepish smile from Rey as she glanced over her shoulder. She watched him as he came to a stand besidestill alongside her, hands buried inside his denim pockets.

"I figured that those might pique your interest," he admitted eloquently, elevating a brow in her direction with a smirk.

Rey nodded and gladly handed him the frame when he extended a hand, freeing the other from its previous confinement.

"I just got done eating actually. I was waiting for you," she explained, casually shrugging her shoulders whilelst drawing her arms into a loose fold. A long moment of tranquility slowly lapsed betweenThey shared a peaceful moment between them, then a her words and the poignant expression that distorted his face. Frowning, she decided to be the one whom broke the unwarranted tension. "When was this taken?"

Eyes maintaining their fix on the pictureWith his eyes remaining fixed on the picture, Ben rubbed a hand over his mouth, muffling his words. "About a few weeks into my freshman year of college," he affirmedrecalled, giving the photo to Rey with a pained grimace. "It was the last competition of the season. Actually, it was my last altogether."

Rey regarded him momentarily, deliberating ifconsidering whether she should risk resurrecting revisiting every question he'd purposely shot down in the past. As always, her persistence won out over her initial hesitation, and she returned the box to its former place on the shelf before pressing further on the topic.

"Ben," she started carefully, "why did you quit?"

Ben blinked, recalling that period of hardship in which drove him to leave every all his former aspirations in to burn within the ashes of its wake. For years he carried that silent burden on his chestin a silence hidden deep in his chest. At first, he showed no signs of relenting as he turned on a bare heel, claiming taking a seat at the rounded table nearby, elbows burrowing into his thighs.

"Ben?" Rey repeated, approaching him with apprehension.

Ben took a breath and raised his chin to see Rey hovering over him, conferring awith a genuine look of concern. He swallowed heavily and nodded, hands fidgeting to draw his awareness from the annoying spasm of a nerve revealing twitch beneath his eye. And sheShe waited patiently for him to speak, patiently.

"Before you, Rey, there was someone else. And she was someone whom I thought I loved and pictured myself marrying planned to marry one day," he confessed with regretfully. "My parents thought otherwise of her. And that's putting how they really felt into much lighter termsTo say that my parents disapproved of her would be putting it mildly," he smirked. "They couldn't quite peg pin down what it was about her that made them feel the way they did, other than just being interested in money that breeding horses can have the tendency to provide and that was it."

Rey nodded whilest shifting the weight on her feet, encouraging him to continue.

"Anyways, she made it clear to me on multiple occasions that she wasn't too fond of horses in general – especially Kylo," he snorted dryly at the mentioning. "Go figure, right? But I wanted her to be a part of that world with me, and I thought that by using my experience of helping teach other students at the time to ride, I could persuade her mind toto change her mind change by teaching her – show her how amazing they can be."

Rey perked her brows slightly at his words, meriting gaining a weak smile from Ben. "Yeah, I loved teaching, so I jumped at the opportunity. That ranch was my life – as much if not more than my parents'. I had every intention taking it over when they wanted to retire."

Rey nodded and took a seat at the empty setting next to him, her shoulder nudging his. "And you still want to, don't you?"

Ben slowly veered tilted his chin to face her, enabling her to fully see the sorrow glossing his eyes. He didn't answer her, but she knew better than to second guess what she already knew to be true. But rather than rummaging her mind for words of comfort, she placed a hand to the sleeve of his Henley, conferring offering reassurance through a tender squeeze. "What happened, then?"

"She gave in," he continued. "Reluctant, obviously, but I was able to give her one lesson. My father was exercising Kylo in the training arena that day and I had her working with Cody." His eyes wilted clouded at the recollection and he looked to at his hands, avidly tensley flexing his jaw. "Since it was my first year of college, he insisted so that Kylo would stay in shape for competing. It was going great. At least, I thought it was until something triggered Kylo, and my father lost control over him. Kylo, started kicking and bucking, acting wildly and all that shit. Of course, I had to keep Cody in line since Kylo's outburst started sending him over the edge."

His voice lowered to a whisper then. "To make a long story short, Kylo reared up and lost his footing. He fell and my father was paralyzed from the waist down. She My girlfriend left, claiming that I was forcing her to be around horses when she already felt uncomfortable and that I'd make a piss-poor teachershocked and horrified by the incident, as she had already felt uncomfortable around horses, and told me before leaving that I'd make an abysmal teacher.. And I believed it."

Rey sat quietly for a moment, allowing her mind to process all she'd been told. Everything had started to make sense: why Ben was so nervous when he first brought her to the ranch, why he was easily angered when he no longer held control over complicated situations, and why he so willingly abandoned his dreams.

Releasing her grip on his hands, she brought her hand up to his hair, reprieving him ofsmoothing the disheveled chunks strands that'd fallen over his face. At her touch, he finally summoned the courage to look at her, and saw there was nothing less thanbut empathy in her eyes.

"What happened was _not_ your fault," she whispered encouragingly, dropping her hand to the plain of his back. "It was a terrible, freak accident that could've happened if you hadn't been there. What she said was nothing more than an easy cop-out to make her feel less guilty, regardless of what her motives were. Aside from everything that's happened, your parents love you. I'm positive if you decided to change your mind, they wouldn't object."

His eyes flickered over hers, wanting to just simply kiss her and tell her that none of it mattered. If he hadn't decided to stray fromput aside those previous dreams of teaching lessons at the ranch, and choosing to teach Agriculture, she never would have've come into his life. Right now, having Rey with him was enough to fill that certain void.

His shoulders flinched at the abrasive intrusive sound of his phone shuddering over the end table where he'd left it earlier that morning, wishing he'd been able to disregard the message from Leia after viewing what the text had read.

"Jesus fucking Christ," he growled through gritted teeth, violently shoving the phone into his back pocket. "We have to go."

"What happened?" Rey asked, jumping to her feet.

Ben muttered a variety of obscenities under his breath while snatching his keys that'd fallen to the carpet the night before, replying with a vague yet coherent version of Leia's message to the carpet. "Just Kylo doing what he does best."

* * *

"Why in the fuck was he in the stall?" Ben bellowed to Leia, directing a finger to the entrance of the barn, where the new worker had recently exited.

"It was my fault, Ben," Leia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I had asked him to take the horses out to their pastures and I completely forgot to remind him that Kylo was off limits to any member of the staff besides us. He just started yesterday."

Ben eyed her accusingly and snorted. "You forgot?" He sneered, veering awareness toeyeing the damage that'd been done to Kylo's stall. The entire mid-section of boards to the side had been destroyed, completely bashed open from the Mmorgan's temperamental outburst towards the Soloo's' newest employee. "Kylo is –extremely hard to forget when it comes to –."

Leia raised a hand to silence him, to whichand Ben begrudgingly ended his rampage of words. Retrieving her hand, she returned her arms into a foldher arms again folded over her chest. "We need the help. We're losing what few experienced workers we have here due to exams. They're under no obligation to be here other than because they loveloving this place as much as we do." Her voice began to soften the longer she spoke. "And I'm not at the age where I can keep doing this by myself anymore, Ben. I'm sorry – I can't."

The conversation between Leia and Ben faded into the distance as Rey exited the barn's rear outlet, wanting to give them a moment of privacy to discuss the issues in regards to the sensitive topic. Wielding a brush in her hand, she ambled towards the enclosure of Kylo's pasture, where he greeted her at the fence.

"Hey, boy," Rey hailed to him softly with a smile. She climbed up the few rows of wooden boards with ease, straddling a leg on either side at the top. "I heard you've been naughty."

He hung his head over the fence's top plank before her, breathing a loud grunt in reply that made her laugh. She stroked the brush's bristles along the wide plain of his neck, seeing his ears perk when they both caught a drift of Ben's voice coming from the stable.

"You miss him, don't you?" She asked quietly, repeating her motions with the brush. "Don't worry, I'm working on him. He's just being kinda stubborn."

"I've been told that he gets it from me."

Rey gasped, giving a startled squeak to the unexpected sound of Han's voice, whom she was surprised to see approach Kylo's paddock in what appeared to be a new electric wheelchair. She stammered over her words at first, not knowing whether or not to step away from Kylo and beg the man for his forgiveness. She looked to Kylo when he elicited gave a loud snort to the newcomer. Withdrawing his head from over the fence, he retreated to the pasture as Han drew closer, tail whipping wildly in the cool breeze.

"Think he hates me," Han mumbled dryly, meaning it to not be a question.

Rey swallowed heavily and nervously skimmed her nails over the bristles of the brush. "I'm sorry," she confessed, regarding him warily. "I know you said that you didn't want me out here but –."

"Don't worry about it, kid," Han interrupted, a smile tugging at a single corner of his lips. "I'm very well aware of the new friend he's made besides Ben."

Blinking, her head reared back in shock of the admission. "You mean – you've known all this time and never said anything?" To which Han nodded, leaving Rey utterly speechless for a moment as she searched for the right words to say. "Why?"

 _Why? That's all you can come up with, Kanata?_

Han's lips stretched into a frown as he stared at Kylo, worrying the chair's joystick between his fingers. "I can't condone believe how well that horse has taken to you. We could use someone else who's not afraid of him and can put him at ease."

Rey drew her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded, repressing the small smile. "He's not that bad really," she confessed, giving her shoulders a relaxed shrug.

"Yeah," he grunted, shaking his head. "I suppose I should admit that I'm glad we kept him, even if he is a prick most of the time."

Rey was almost certain she hadn't heard him correctly. Every word that the man was saying, highly contradicted everything she'd heard from him about Kylo since she had'd come to know Han. After a few minutes of prolonged silence, hearing nothing but the soft whinnies of horses lingering in the distance, her vocal chords slowly regained their momentum to speak. "What changed your mind?"

Han was quiet for a moment, exerting a look thathis look was a mixture of being somewhat amused yet troubled. "Because that horse is the only thing that's kept our family together in some way: Ben was never much of a social person. Leia and I always had our hands full here. I couldn't take away the one thing that's ever given him happiness when we were unable to." He paused again, his expression reigning one of remorse. "And the accident was nobody's fault but my own. I'm the one who pushed the idea of wanting to work Kylo while Ben was away – I knew the risk and I took it. And I wound up paying for it."

Rey nodded. "I know," she replied knowingly. "And I think Ben knows it, too."

* * *

 **No worries guys! We're not gonna have some ridiculous love triangle with an ex showing up. There's enough drama going on as it is, and she's long gone. ;)**


	17. Tricks and Treats

"Fishnets?" Rey grumbled, quirking her lip at the undergarment packet that Rose handed over. "You're kidding me right?"

"Why not?" Rose countered, shrugging her shoulders. "You never said what kind to bring other than they had to be black, and I bought an extra pair when I got mine to keep for a backup. It's Halloween. Not prom."

"Well, yeah," Rey replied slowly, scrunching her nose. "But – fishnets?"

Rose rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Oh, come on Rey! Don't be such a prude. They're exactly what you need to add that little seductiveness to your costume," she affirmed, motioning a hand toward the dress that Rey was wearing. "You're already playing it safe with a skirt that stops above your knees. I think you can afford to work with me this one time. Besides," she winked and grinned, "where's your sense of living dangerously?"

 _If you only knew,_ Rey remarked to herself. If dating her teacher wouldn't classify as her high-tailing it through that so-called 'danger zone' in life, then she would be at a loss for words.

Of course, there may have been some truth to Rose's accusation, considering Rey did make Sabine cart her around from one store to another for an entire afternoon in search for that perfect outfit and came out empty-handed. So when Sabine finally offered to lend her an outfit, she was more than grateful. It was simple yet sexy in its own way, and she didn't have to worry about embarrassing herself if she were to bend over and give the school an accidental eyeful of her ass.

The dress was sleeveless with thin, black straps as part of the corset. The bodice hugged the outer swell of her breasts, providing just the right amount of cleavage to peek out from the top to give it that evocative allure without being extreme. The front was latticed with an onyx-colored ribbon, providing a snug-fit to her torso. The white fabric covering her bust was cinched, puffing out from above the bodice.

The rest of the attire conformed to her taut figure, save for the dramatic flair at the midriff where the skirt was seamed. And black, velvety material created a damask embellishment along the bottom trim of the dress. All that was left for Rey to put on, other than the dreadful pair of stockings, was the red cape and black boots to pull the overall look, as Red Riding Hood, together.

Up until now, the only struggle was constantly needing to fix her strapless bra in what was beginning to feel like a hopeless effort from abstaining further south. What was one more annoyance to add for the night? But then this was Rose that she was trying to argue with: Mishawaka High's most famous goddess in fashion. And she had to of been the only person out of the entire student body who gained more pleasure out of pushing every button of tolerance that belonged to Principal Hux.

"You just don't want to end up in Hux's office alone," Rey teased, accepting the unopened packet from Rose. "The only thing that's innocent about your outfit is the antennae headband."

"Pfft, Hux doesn't bother me," Rose replied with a chuckle. She gave her hips a playful shake, causing the stinger that was attached to the back of her bumble bee outfit to wiggle about. "And this – I just wanted this for the stinger, makes it easier to ward off horny flyboys that think they can grind and grope me from behind."

Rey gave her a knowing look and snickered when Rose turned her back, kneeling to retrieve the curling iron and hairspray from her duffle bag on the floor that sat in a heap next to Rey's bed. It was a cute costume: wings, antennae, and all. However, the skirt length was leaning uncomfortably toward the spectrum of being a bit _too_ risqué for an event where the school's dress code was said to be more lenient.

The lemon-yellow, satin skirt extended out from the black and yellow-striped bodysuit, ending beneath the curvature of her buttocks and thighs, wearing her own pair of fishnet leggings. She also wore a set of matching leg warmers above a pair of black platform heels with rounded toes.

Judging by what she saw of Rose at the moment, she'd be surprised if her friend made it that far into the evening before Hux wound up dragging her into his office – or sending her home.

"Why do you do that anyway?" Rey asked, pulling back the sealed adhesive of the package to acquire its contents.

"Do what?" Rose inquired quizzically, her legs straightening as she stood. She grasped the curling iron that she'd been searching for with one hand, hairspray can in the other.

"Antagonize Hux the way you do," Rey mused, knitting her brows. "Being sent to his office all the time seems more like a hassle just because you love to rebel against the school's dress code."

"Oh," Rose scoffed, her thumb caressing the container's smooth surface. "I don't know?" She shrugged, her bottom lip puckering out with indifference. "I guess because he's kinda hot when he gets all riled up."

Rey blinked, allowing her brain to consume what sounded like nonsense to her ears. "So you get in trouble – on purpose – just to see him get pissed off? Because you think he's hot?"

Rose shrugged. "I guess so."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just say hi? Or smile and wave or whatever?"

Rose giggled, clearly more amused at her strange source of entertainment than Rey. "And where's the fun in that?"

"I don't know," Rey groaned, supporting her hip against the mattress while she eased her toes into the sheer fabric. "Maybe, because it sounds more logical than possibly getting yourself expelled your senior year?"

A haughty laugh broke from Rose's lips at that. She waved the canister of hairspray in the air, implying that there was no need to worry before she spoke. "He's had three years to get rid of me, and he hasn't yet. It's like he enjoys being tormented."

"Well, it's good to know that you're utterly certain of that," Rey mumbled quickly, her lips pinched. "So, would you ever – you know – do anything with him if you ever got the chance?"

Rose was caught off-guard by the question. Her mouth opened and closed at first. "I don't know," she stammered, "maybe. But I'm pretty sure that fucking the principal would get me thrown out of school faster than my usual antics would."

"Exactly, he's the principal. Why would you get expelled if he felt the same way?" Rey suggested, but Rose only shrugged in return. With a final pull of the stockings, she drew them over her hips, grimacing at their odd texture. "God, these things feel really weird! Sorry, anyway, I suppose it would make Finn a little bit jealous to know that he has some sort of competition."

Rose nodded. "They do feel a little itchy and weird at first, but you'll get used to them," she assured and beckoned Rey to follow her toward the bathroom. "Just don't tell Finn. He doesn't need to know. It's just a stupid crush that gets me out of History most days. And since we seem to be playing 'never have I ever' here: what about you?"

Rey dawdled in her steps, a frown spreading across her face. "What do you mean?"

Rose flipped the light on, giving the tiny bathroom a reprieve from its dim lighting. "Would you fool around with Mr. Solo if you ever got the chance?"

 _Oh no…_

Rey stopped at the bathroom's threshold, a doe-eyed expression on her face, her mind begging to conjure another fib. She could have told her no. She could have said that Mr. Solo was nothing more than her teacher, or say he was nothing more than a crush that she had fantasized about during and outside of class.

Lies. That's all her words would be: more and more lies. Lies that she was tired of telling when she longed to just scream at the top of her lungs that Ben was hers and how much he truly meant to her. Lies she had promised Ben to tell no more of. She couldn't tell Maz – not yet, at least. However, Rose was her best friend and someone whom Rey was certain that she could trust with her secret.

She watched in silence as Rose plugged the iron into the outlet, pondering how she could make the truth easier for her friend to understand. And before she had a chance to realize what she was doing, the words came barreling over her lips.

"I kind of already am," she whispered nervously.

Rose blinked and then laughed. "Yeah, sure! I mean, it's obvious that you've had it bad for the guy but, come on! I just had to talk you into wearing fishnets! The Rey that I know would never be that daring."

Rey heaved a sigh and shook her head.

"Rose, I'm serious," she murmured, swallowing down the knot that had lodged itself in her throat. "Mr. So- I mean, Ben. His name is Ben," she continued. "We've been seeing each other for nearly a month now."

Rey held her breath and watched as Rose's apparent disbelief faded to shock. The apartment grew laden with silence, save for the muffled sound of a door closing somewhere down the hall, causing them both to flinch at the disruption.

"Oh my god," Rose gasped, a hand covering her mouth. "You're really being serious?"

Rey nodded, towing her bottom lip beneath an incisor.

"I – holy shit, Rey!"

"Please," Rey implored, hands held and raised like a prayer to her face. "You _cannot_ tell anyone about this, especially Poe."

"That's just it!" Rose screeched, arms folding over her chest. "Do you realize what could happen if Poe found out? There's a ton of hot guys that you could've chosen, Rey. Not everyone who goes there is a complete douche bag like Poe! And how do you know Ben isn't just using you?"

"He's _not_ like that," Rey spat in a voice that was louder than before, her eyes firmly set on Rose. "I don't expect you to understand right now because of who he is, but I had to tell someone." Her voice softened again. "He's amazing and sweet, and far from the horrible person that you guys believe him to be."

Rose heaved a sigh and nodded, eyes radiating empathy. "I believe you. I'm sorry for freaking out on you. I just – you're my best friend, Rey. And since he's older it was the first thing that popped into my head. I know it's lame to assume that because guys our age can be just as bad. Plus I'm aware that I sound like a complete and total hypocrite for scolding you when I confessed to similar thoughts about - well, you know who."

A smile tugged at the corners of Rey's lips. "Ben was actually the one who picked me up from Poe's party that night. He's never pressured me to do anything that I didn't feel comfortable with. If anything," she snorted, "I think I'm the one who tries to jump him more."

Rose chuckled and shook her head. "So, I'm assuming that he'll be there tonight to chaperone?"

"Yes!" Rey chirped. "He's dressing as the wolf."

Rose beamed a smile that easily reached her eyes. "Oh my god, you even coordinated your costumes! Well, if you guys want to sneak away tonight, I'll try my best to keep Poe busy."

Rey smiled appreciatively, and threw her arms around Rose's shoulders, drawing her into a hug. "Thank you. You really are the best."

"Of course," Rose assured sweetly. Parting from the short embrace, she pointed to the toilet's porcelain seat. "Now, sit. We have some work to do."

* * *

 _Aren't you something, an original, 'cause it doesn't seem merely assembled_

 _And I can't help but stare 'cause I see truth somewhere in your eyes_

 _Ooh I can't ever change without you, you reflect me, I love that about you_

 _And if I could, I would look at us all the time_

' _Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul_

 _I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go_

 _Just put your hand on the glass, I'm here trying to pull you through_

 _You just gotta be strong_

' _Cause I don't wanna lose you now_

 _I'm looking right at the other half of me_

 _The vacancy that sat in my heart_

 _Is a space that now you hold_

Rhythmic sounds of bass guitars and drums rattled the walls, amplified by subwoofers flanking the DJ's set-up. Lyrics from popular music artists surged in waves through pythonic-sized speakers, greeting the ears of each and every student and chaperone who entered through the doors of Mishawaka High's gymnasium.

A dense cloud of fog rolled across the floor, rising from fog machines that were placed at every corner of the great room, enhancing the gym's dark and eerie atmosphere. A disco ball hung at the center of the ceiling above a swell of dancing students, dressed in costumes that ranged from zombies to witches to the iconic trio from _Ghostbusters_. They kept their hands held high and waved in sync with the music, girls mouthed their favorite lines to the Justin Timberlake song.

There was a table with refreshments near the bleachers to the right as she and Rose passed under the archway inside, lined with alternating orange and black balloons, and a photo booth stationed at the wall to their far left. The backdrop was of a creepy, old house: a haunted one no doubt. Jack-o-lanterns perched on small poles alongside taller ones with torches, lights imitating real life flames, and cornstalks.

It was the first school dance that Rey had ever been to, so she was in awe of its festive decor the moment she and Rose arrived. While Rose searched for Finn and Poe, Rey scanned her eyes over the room for Ben; although poor lighting made it a difficult task for both. She told Rose just as much, having to raise her voice in order to be heard above the loud music.

"I know!" Rose hollered back, frustration blatant on her face. "The guys were getting their costumes today after school. I have no idea what they're dressed as!"

"Maybe you should just text them?" Rey suggested, settling her hands on her hips with a huff.

Rose nodded, retrieving her phone from where she had it nestled in her bra. "Have you found Ben yet?"

With a pout on her face, Rey shook her head. Even if she was able to find him it wasn't as if she could show her excitement to see him. It was but one of many downsides to the evening, though what she dreaded the most were those looming slow dances, where every couple was able to hold their date near and close. Rey would begrudgingly pass on those dances and sit on the bleachers rather than dance with someone like Poe who, despite knowing she was in a relationship with someone, insisted that she still be his date.

"Nope," Rey sighed when she finally spoke. Her eyes veered from the masses to Rose, whose gaze was fixed on the phone in hand, illuminating her face with its brightly-lit screen. "Have you heard anything from Finn?"

"Yes!" Rose responded cheerfully. "Poe just texted me. They're just now pulling into the par-."

"Tico!"

Together, their heads turned at the sharpness of Hux's voice to see the principle approaching ahead, dressed in his usual ebony suit with a white Oxford. Surprisingly, he was also wearing a cherry-red tie around his collar and devilish horns on his head.

"The red-headed demon found you later than I thought he would," Rey snarked, giving Rose's arm a playful nudge with her elbow.

Rose snickered. "Love the costume, Hugs!" She cried, tucking her phone away from view into its former place. "I really dig the horns by the way. They bring out the color of your hair."

"Funny," Hux sneered when he came to a sudden stop in front of them. He stood stiffly with his shoulders squared, hands clasped behind his back. "Why is it that I constantly have to remind you of the school's policy on attire?" He asked, eyes specifically fixed on Rose.

Rose gave him a wounded look. "What? You don't like it?" She twirled casually, skirt flourishing at the motion.

Hux shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Was it really your intention to reveal so much skin at a school function?"

Rose regarded her outfit, satisfied despite what he had to say about it. She returned to Hux, eyes blown yet feigning innocence. "It looks fine to me. But can you measure it just to double check?"

Hux leveled his gaze, patience depleted. "That won't be necessary Miss Tico. Might I suggest that you take notes on what your friends are wearing," he ordered, jutting his chin to Rey. "Clearly the rules aren't all that difficult to follow."

The girls exchanged looks and snorted, knowing what the other was thinking without having to express it aloud, ignoring a very confused Hux. The moment was interrupted by Finn's voice, their names piercing the room during a brief change in the music, a couple of cat-calls followed by Poe.

Hux rolled his eyes, turning on a heel to leave. "Just cover up, Tico. Perhaps your friend will lend you her cape."

"Look at you fine, sexy ladies!" Finn declared, overshadowing Hux's remark. "Wait, did I interrupt something?"

Rey scoffed, ignoring the question. "What are you supposed to be?"

Finn looked offended. "Black Panther!" He pulled the cat-like mask down from its place on his forehead to demonstrate the effect, voice muffled by the apparatus when he spoke again. "Haven't you ever seen _The Avengers_?"

"Not everyone is a Marvel fanatic. And why didn't you at least choose someone like Spiderman?" Rose chided, arms folded over her chest. "You knew that I was going to be a bumblebee. You could've at least gotten a superhero that coordinated with mine!"

Poe grimaced, eyebrow cocked. "People are actually doing that?"

Rey snorted at that. Rose huffed in frustration.

"Apparently," Finn quipped shortly. "If that's the case, I saw that Jessika was dressed as Annamaria when we were coming in, Captain Sparrow."

"Oh hell no," Poe groaned, conveying a scowl at the mental image.

"I guess he is the worst pirate that we've ever heard of," Rey mentioned to Rose, referring to Poe's pirate costume that was the legendary captain from _Pirates of the Caribbean_.

They both laughed at the comment, eliciting quizzical expressions from Finn and Poe.

"Hey!" Rose gasped. "Has anyone seen Mitaka yet? I forgot he mentioned that he was gonna come!"

"Yeah," Rey assured. "He was the guy dressed as the Phantom of the Opera when we first walked in."

Rose looked surprised. "That was Mitaka talking to what's her face? Shit, I can't even remember her name! She always sits in the back row in Trig. She was dressed as Belle from _Beauty and the Beast_ I think."

Rey quirked a brow. "Jaina?"

"Yes! That's her name," she squealed. "Wow, our shy boy is finally getting brave."

The memorable music of Michael Jackson's song _Thriller_ suddenly came across the speakers, sustaining loud cheers of approval from the crowd.

"Come on!" Rose commanded, grabbing Rey's hand. "Let's dance!"

"I can't dance!" Rey warned.

"There's no rule that says you _have_ to know how to dance to have fun," Rose promised. "Come on!"

Relenting, Rey was led to the dance floor, hips swaying on instinct to the beat. Finn and Poe fell in suit. She tried her hardest to mimic Rose's moves but failed, for the most part, and then went with the flow. They laughed and danced and spun when the moment was right in the music as each song transitioned into another, not caring that the makeup on their faces was quickly turning to putty from sweat.

Several songs had come and gone when the song, _From This Moment On_ by Shania Twain, started to play, marking it as the first slow dance of the night. And Rey longed for nothing more than to have the person that was extending his hand to her, asking her to dance, to be Ben and not Poe.

"Come on, Rey," Poe genuinely asked, "just one dance?"

Rey frowned and shook her head, chest heaving from the exertion. "I think I'll sit this one out," she confessed, using a hand to fan herself. "A break sounds perfect right now. I'm sorry."

Poe nodded, however, the disappointment on his face was clear. Much to her satisfaction, he didn't push further on the question. Rey could barely restrain the sigh when she advanced toward the refreshment table, relieved that Poe didn't bother to follow.

 _Good, maybe he's finally getting the hint_ , she muttered to herself, pouring a cup of fruit punch with the ladle from the juice bowl.

She passed on the trail mix, distributed in snack-sized serving cups across the table, wishing she hadn't left her phone in Rose's car so she could message Ben. It had been nearly an hour since they'd arrived at the dance and she had yet to see him.

She found a bare spot along the wall that was opposite the bleachers, feeling more like the small group of nerds that were huddled there, watching those who remained dancing with envy. Raising the small cup to her lips for a drink, she skimmed over the faces in the crowd for Ben, arms hugging her torso.

It wasn't until the song's final moments when a certain person came through the gymnasium's rear entrance unseen and was approaching her from behind. The voice of the newcomer rang soft and sweet to her ears, sweeter than the melody that was playing for the assembly on the dance floor, and immediately put a smile on her face when he spoke.

"I was always under the impression that this section was reserved for outcasts."

Warmth welled within the pit of her abdomen at the sound of his voice, knowing right away that it was Ben. Craning her chin to the side, she saw him standing beside her, surprised that he wasn't wearing his glasses for once. _Contacts_ , she supposed.

"My date was running late apparently," she accused blithely. "I was beginning to wonder if he ditched me."

Ben raised his brows, feigning ignorance. "Seriously? Damn, what an asshole."

Rey laughed and shook her head, eyes soft and tender. "It's okay. I think I can forgive him this one time."

"I suppose that's good then," he smirked. "I'm sorry for running late. Hux has been blowing up my phone since this started."

"Is everything okay?" Rey asked, her brows furrowed.

Ben nodded and shoved the hand nearest to her in his front jean pocket. "I just had to make a quick trip to the ranch. Kylo was - being Kylo."

Rey smiled. "I do love that naughty little pony though."

Ben chuckled and then heaved a sigh, making his cheeks puff in the act. His eyes flickered over her appearance, devouring everything the shadows failed to touch. Her eyelids were painted with mixtures of grey, a dark shade of charcoal that faded to light smoke. Her hair hung in loose curls over her shoulders, disheveled from dancing. "You look beautiful Rey. I don't think I could ever tell you that enough without exhausting the words."

Pink faintly colored her cheeks at the compliment. "Thanks, but I think most of the makeup has melted off."

Ben shook his head. "You don't need it anyway. And I will make it up to you before the night is over since I missed this slow dance."

"How?" She asked, wincing. "People will see."

"Not if we go somewhere else."

She eyed him skeptically. "Like where?"

Ben rolled his lips, eyes shortly straying from hers toward the dark space over her shoulder. "The library, it's fairly close so we can still hear the music. We could have our own dance in private there."

Her eyes brightened at the suggestion, resisting the powerful urge to kiss him. "It sounds perfect. I can meet you there at the beginning of the next slow song."

The music gradually came to an end then, replaced by the catchy beats that belonged to another. As they parted to go their separate ways Rey caught a glimpse of his wolf tail, fastened to the backside of his dark denim between the pockets.

"Hey!" She called in a voice that was loud enough for only Ben to hear, prompting him to steal a glance from over his shoulder. "Where's the rest of your costume?"

He rolled his eyes and signaled the hand that was wielding the headband into her view, revealing the largest and fluffiest pair of wolf ears she'd ever seen. Her hands motioned for him to put them on, and he obliged without objection - well, at least not too much of one.

If Rey hadn't needed a reason to love his large ears already, she certainly had one now.

* * *

Time was slow moving before the opening keys of the next slow song played throughout the gym, the soulful voices of Meghan Trainor with the accompaniment of John Legend following after. The DJ announced through his microphone that everyone was to turn to their special someone and that was the last Rey remembered hearing.

Leaving what was left of his statement muffled behind closed doors, she made a quick jog down the intersecting hallway. She headed directly toward the library, where she found Ben waiting for her, as promised. The evening's full moon glistened through a large window behind the librarian's desk, and they could use nature's spotlight amongst the archives as their own inside the blackened interior.

 _So I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you_  
 _And I'm gonna hold you like I'm saying goodbye_  
 _Wherever we're standing_  
 _I won't take you for granted_  
 _'Cause we'll never know when, when we'll run out of time_

Not allowing herself a moment to catch her breath, she immediately flung her arms around his neck, smashing his lips to hers. They poured every part of themselves into the moment, doing precisely what the message of the lyrics conveyed as the sweet melody guided its way through the hall to their ears.

 _So I'll kiss you longer baby_  
 _Any chance that I get_  
 _I'll make the most of the minutes_  
 _And love with no regrets_

"I thought I should tell you before you find out the hard way," she breathed against his lips, disrupting the kiss. "I'm a terrible dancer."

Ben chuckled. "Well, lucky for you, you only have to worry about following my lead," he murmured, his voice low and raspy.

She smiled at that, feeling slightly more reassured and confident. He showed her where to place her hand on his shoulder, the other he firmly grasped in his hand, the remaining palm splayed over the small of her back. He guided them into a slow series of steady movements, swaying in place on occasion. To anyone else, it might have been considered cheesy, but to Rey, it was one was of the best moments of her life.

She gave him a smile that spread across the width of her face. And he awarded her the same lop-sided grin that never ceased to make her heart race in her chest; however, the look on his face was unlike the usual way he looked at her. This felt heavier, more intense, almost suffocating. As if there were something more that had suddenly developed, something that hadn't been there before.

But that was something that could be considered at a later time, as the lyrics were approaching the end of the song. Bringing their bodies closer together, her head settled against his shoulder and she closed her eyes, relishing what few moments were left of their dance.


	18. LOVE

Rey stared at the sunlight filtering through the fabric of her bedroom curtains, eyes hooded and laden with sleep. Without having to draw open the shades she guessed it to be near mid-morning, knowing the sun rose late in the early winter months. Since the day was the official start of Winter Break from school she was under no obligation to leave the comfort of her bed. At least, not right away.

She allowed herself a moment or two for her eyes to shed their sleep-driven haze and then shifted to her opposite side. Groaning she reached for the phone lying on her nightstand. She pressed the _home button_ and saw a message from Ben, waiting for her on the screen.

 **\- Ben Solo -**

 _Good morning sleepy head_

 _I can't wait to see your beautiful face_

She smiled at the message. Chewing on her bottom lip, she rolled onto her back and typed her reply.

 **\- Rey Kanata -**

 _10ish isn't so bad :P_

 _I can't wait for later!_

Waiting for his response she put the phone face down on her stomach, palming the remnants of sleep from her eyes and yawned. When the device buzzed a few moments later she immediately retrieved it again.

 **\- Ben Solo -**

 _Same_

 _It's been years since I last went skating_

Nodding she had the same thought. While she had never been ice skating before, she remembered owning a pair of rollerblades once during her early teenage years. Ben had mentioned that ice skating was basically the same thing, only the skates were used on ice instead of concrete. Considering herself a quick learner, and being somewhat experienced, she thought it wouldn't be too difficult of a concept to grasp.

 **\- Rey Kanata -**

 _$5 that I fall first_

 **\- Ben Solo -**

 _I'll raise you another $15_

 **\- Rey Kanata-**

 _Done! haha_

 _OH btw my aunt will be here also_

 _Try not to let her freak you out too much_

 _And don't you freak out either, Kanata!_ She chided to herself.

As much as she wanted Maz to finally meet him it also made her nervous. Fingers crossed she hoped that her aunt wouldn't embarrass her like Maz was known to do at times. But she really wanted Maz to like him and be accepting of him, as Ben was obviously older. And having Maz's approval made her think it'd be easier to confess that Ben was really her teacher and not just some random guy who she'd fallen for at a ranch. That was only if he hadn't retired from teaching by the time she meant to confess the truth.

Unfortunately, that was still a very big _if_...

 **\- Ben Solo -**

 _I've survived some pretty bad parent/teacher conferences in the past. No worries._

 _I'm sure your aunt isn't that bad_

 _I just have to remember to contain myself ;)_

 **\- Rey Kanata-**

 _I think that's safe to say for both of us_

God, that statement was so painfully true!

It was ridiculous how much she loved kissing him, loved being close to him. Before Ben, she was never the sort of person who depended on anyone for anything but now, she needed him as much as her lungs needed air. Her chest would tighten whenever he was near or smiled, eliciting a warm and bubbly sensation inside of her. It was precisely how someone felt when they were in love.

Smiling at the thought she sighed, cheeks puffing slightly. She hadn't told him how she felt just yet, fearing it was either too soon or doubting that he shared the same emotion. Or perhaps she was simply thinking too far into it.

 **\- Rey Kanata -**

 _Anywho I suppose that I should probably get up?_

 **\- Ben Solo -**

 _Yes, I'll see you soon_

After pulling the hoodie on that was left on the floor by her bed she got up and gave Bee-Bee a fresh bowl of pellets and some water, then made her bed and joined Maz in the kitchen for breakfast. Maz was already parked on the sofa with a fresh cup of coffee in hand, a folded newspaper so that the front was visible in the other.

"Good morning, kiddo," Maz greeted, briefly glancing from the main article to regard her niece. "I was beginning to think you would never wake up."

Rey shrugged and smiled. "Just catching up on some much-needed beauty sleep, I guess," she hummed from over a shoulder.

Maz snorted. "Beauty rest," she parroted, peering over the rims of her glasses. "That's one phrase I never thought I'd hear from you."

"Yeah, well, people can change right?" Rey asked, reaching for the box of strawberry _Frosted Mini-Wheats_ from the top shelf of the cupboard.

"Apparently," Maz quipped, raising her brows. "This Ben fellow has certainly changed you in more ways than one."

Rey scoffed at the words and continued preparing her breakfast before speaking next. "But in a good way, I hope?"

Maz nodded. "I never meant it in a bad way. You've just matured since you met him, and that's a good thing. But perhaps you could pay for the extra data charges on this month's phone bill?"

 _Oops!_

Days when they hadn't been at the ranch they reverted to talking on messenger. Because if she wasn't elbows deep in homework over the prior weeks at school, she was busy studying for finals. Helping her aunt was the least that she could do. Rey had more than enough money saved from working at the ranch to cover the extra funds. She felt guilty for not asking her about it sooner.

"Sorry," Rey winced, claiming the cushion opposite of Maz with her bowl of cereal. "I can help out if you wouldn't mind upgrading to the unlimited data?"

"That could work," Maz affirmed. "As long as you're not sending messages while you're in class I have no quarrel."

Taking a spoonful of cereal Rey shook her head, brows furrowed.

"No, just during passing periods every now and then," she explained after swallowing. "I'm sorry. I guess I got a little carried away."

"Of course, it happens and I appreciate the offer," Maz replied. She set the newspaper on her lap and took a sip of her coffee, attention wholly on Rey. "But it sure would be nice to meet this young man someday. You've been with him for what - a few months now? And I haven't the slightest clue what he looks like."

"I can't help that your schedule always clashes with ours," Rey mumbled, toying some squares of cereal with her spoon. "You're either working or sleeping and if not that we're at the ranch. But he is picking me up today to go skating."

Maz gasped, truly surprised. "So you mean I'm _finally_ going to meet him?"

"Just - _please_ don't do or say anything embarrassing," she groaned.

"Oh, Rey, I love you and I would be a terrible guardian if I passed up the chance to embarrass my niece in front of her _first real_ boyfriend."

Rey gave her a pointed look, head tilted to the side.

"Oh fine," Maz chuckled, taking a smaller sip of coffee. "Be a party pooper then and ruin my fun."

"Promise?"

Maz rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes I promise. Don't get your panties in a bunch."

"Okay," Rey sighed. "Thank you."

Maz regarded her for a moment. "This Ben must really mean a lot to you if it bothers you that much."

Rey could only smile for her response and went about finishing her cereal in silence. Maz shook her head and returned to reading her newspaper. She remembered to rinse the bowl in the sink before putting it inside the dishwasher. Looking toward the stove on her right she noted the time, seeing that a few hours remained before Ben was supposed to arrive. With having some time between now and then she retreated to her room for some reading. Of course, she settled with _Black Beauty_.

Sadly she hadn't been able to finish the story since the beginning of the school year. Thinking back on the day when she first walked into the Agriculture classroom it surprised her how far they had come in their relationship. Frankly, she couldn't picture her life now without him. And to think that it all started with her pestering him about some silly book.

Well, and calling him a prick.

She read through a few chapters before it was time to shower. Heeding to the temperature on her phone's weather app she settled for an outfit that would be warm but comfortable enough for skating: black fleece-lined leggings, a chunky knitted oatmeal-colored sweater with a black camisole to go underneath, and a pair of ankle-high boot socks.

She kept her makeup light and simple, nearly stabbing her eye once with mascara in the process. By the time she dried her hair and straightened it to hang nice and free she received another message from Ben, stating that he'd be there shortly. She hurried to finish up and retrieved her favorite pair of _Caribou_ boots from her bedroom, then put on her scarf and fingerless gloves from the basket inside the foyer closet with their coats.

"Just a reminder," Rey scolded, looking to Maz who had finished tidying up the kitchen, "do not -."

"I know, I know," Maz interrupted, motioning her hand in the air. "Nothing too embarrassing, I haven't forgotten about our little chat earlier."

Rey smiled contentedly and opened the door after hearing the firm knock. Her grin widened when she saw Ben, wearing a heavy corduroy jacket over red plaid and dark denim jeans, hands shoved in the coat pockets. And he had that same fucking smile on his face that never ceased to make her go weak in the knees.

"Hey," she murmured and bit her lip, motioning with a quick jerk of her head for him to come inside.

He complied without words, nodding to Maz when he saw her, who had joined them in the very small foyer.

"So _you're_ the mystery man that's been in Rey's life for all these months?" Maz stated, eyeing Rey accusingly. "You could have warned me that he was a sexy beefcake at least."

Rey looked horrified, gritting her teeth. "Maz!"

Ben laughed, unable to hide the flourishing red on his face.

"And you must be Maz," he said, extending a hand to her. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Maz returned the gesture and smiled, shaking his hand firmly. "It's very nice to meet you as well, Ben. I'm sorry that it's taken this long to do so."

 _Did Maz just wink at him?_

"Okay! We should go," Rey chimed in quickly, looking to Ben. "Just in case it's busy today?"

"I have to get ready for work anyways, I suppose," Maz added, looking to Rey again. "I'll see you tomorrow kiddo, have fun."

Rey grumbled her goodbye, slowly moving past Ben and through the door. At least he was more gracious than she and happily bid Maz a proper farewell before they left.

"Oh my god, I am _so_ sorry," she sighed, tipping her chin to reveal the shame on her face. "I swear that I made her promise to behave before you got here."

Ben chuckled at that. Shaking his head, he took her hand and threaded their fingers together as they walked down the hall. "As I said earlier, I've been through a lot worse. I'm glad to have finally met her."

"Well, yeah but, God," she rolled her eyes. "I swear she was born with no chill."

Rey continued to ramble on about her annoyance with Maz as they walked. Ben sighed, bringing them to a stop when they neared the exit and turned to face her. Before Rey had a chance to ask what he was doing his hands were cradling her face and he kissed her deeply.

Her confusion of his actions withered away at the sudden taste of his lips and she folded her arms around his neck, rising on the tips of her toes. Lips remaining locked on hers he lowered his hands to her waist, drawing her body closer to his. He wrapped his arms around her torso then, holding her in place and kissed her until both were breathless.

She opened her eyes when his lips parted from hers, head spinning and slightly dizzy. She stared at him as he gazed back at her intently, chests heaving together.

"I love you, Rey," he whispered. He loosened his hold on her, hands moving to her waist. "I wanted to tell you later but I couldn't hold it in any longer."

Blinking she was certain she hadn't heard him correctly at first.

"Y-you love me?" She stammered, eyes wide with shock.

He nodded and swallowed heavily. "You don't have to say anything back, there's no pressure. I just wanted you to kno-."

She silenced him with another kiss. Leaving an arm around his shoulder she wound the other hand through the back of his hair. He moaned softly over her lips, not wanting it to end; however, his disappointment was brief when she pulled away and smiled.

"I love you too."

* * *

The air was crisp that afternoon, skies blue and free of clouds. Here it was, a week before Christmas, and not a single snowflake had fallen. Ben hadn't exaggerated when he said Indiana was stingy on its snowfall and Rey hoped that the snow drought would change before then.

But right now, aside from having one little wish that hadn't been fulfilled just yet, life was perfect. She had an aunt who she loved dearly, despite how annoying and embarrassing the little woman could be at times. She had her friends at school and those whom she adored at the ranch - and she had Ben.

Ever since Ben told her that he loved her, her head had been stuck in the clouds. The words seemed to be set on infinite replay. His voice was all she could hear above the dozens of others when they arrived at the skating rink in downtown Mishawaka. Like he was the only person living inside her world.

Yes, life was perfect.

A small variety of shops paralleled both sides of the rink. Some of them sold trinkets like _Pandora_ charms and snowglobes for stocking stuffers, while others offered hot drinks and soft pretzels with melted cheese and popcorn for snacks, along with a rental shack where visitors were able to rent their ice skates.

Ornamental trees were planted at the center of a brick walkway between every shop, limbs bare and draped with strands of white lights that would likely shine magically at night. A row of park benches sat at one end of the rink, and a larger than life Christmas tree stood on display at the other. Rey could only imagine how beautiful and enchanting the place looked when everything was lit.

With a pair of skates in hand, she followed Ben to one of the empty benches, gawking at a couple skaters doing butterfly jumps and other fancy moves as they traveled past. It amazed her how easy they made it look. She took a seat next to him, removing their shoes and placed them underneath the bench.

"I'll throw in another five bucks if you try that," Ben teased, nodding to those who were doing said tricks on the ice.

Rey snorted and shook her head. "You would either have to carry me home or to the hospital afterward," she quipped, tightening the laces on her skates. "Because something would definitely be broken."

"Fair enough," he chuckled, leaning over to lace his own pair of skates. "How about backwards then?"

Rey cocked a brow at him, smirking. "Does this pertain to you too or just me?"

"Just you."

"That's not fair!" She exclaimed, laughing again. "If I'm meant to get a bruised ass you're going to suffer with me."

He looked at her then, expression serious. "I'll be more than happy to take care of you."

She gave his bicep a playful swat with the back of her hand. He laughed and they finished prepping their skates. Ben was the first to rise from the bench, wobbling slightly at first and then extended his hands to Rey. She gladly accepted the help and he pulled her to her feet, kissing her sweetly.

"So far so good," she blushed at him.

"Ready?" He smirked.

She nodded, hand tightly clasping his, they hobbled toward the rink. Using the other as support, they took their first steps onto the sheet of ice. Neither could be certain of who tumbled first because both fell after attempting to glide.

"Holy shit," she gasped, looking to Ben who was also on his ass and laughing with her. "This is a _lot_ harder than it looks!"

"The first few steps are always the hardest though," he admitted. "Okay, so here's the goal, we _have_ to finish one lap."

"Sure," she scrunched her nose, "but at this rate, it'll likely be evening when that happens."

"Probably!"

"We can do this," she urged, raising a hand to signal him a thumbs up.

Ben regained his footing and rose to his feet, reaching for Rey's hands he helped her do the same. She took a breath and nodded, assuring him that she was ready to try again. Hands firmly gripping the other's, they moved forward together then, wavering only a little this time.

She stumbled once more when they made it halfway down the rink but Ben kept her from falling. She laughed at herself, not even the slightest bit embarrassed of how horrible she was at skating. After a few more stumbles and falls she started to get the gist of it, and they finally made an entire lap. One lap led into two more. And then another. And another. And even a few more after. By the time they were finished, Rey was able to leave the rink without his help.

The sun was almost completely settled into the horizon when they changed into their normal shoes. The temperature had dropped significantly with the sun's absence, enabling them to see their breath whenever they breathed. Every light bulb that was strung on every nearby tree immediately came to life. It was beautiful, romantic, ethereal even. Rey couldn't imagine sharing the moment with anyone else.

They returned their skates to the rental shack. Ben put his arm over her shoulders and she leaned into him for warmth, an arm drawn around his waist. Together they walked towards the enormous Christmas tree. Hidden speakers within the plaza elicited tunes and lyrics from popular holiday carols, its lights moved in sync to every beat, bringing the tree virtually to life.

She beamed with bright eyes at the display, not realizing that Ben was staring at her until he flexed his grip around her shoulders. She tilted her chin up at him and smiled, reminded of their bet from earlier.

"So, which one of us fell first?"

His head cocked at the question, lips askew in thought. "Me."

"Oh?" She asked skeptically. "You sure about that? I'd hate to be let off the hook that easy. I know I was terrible at first."

"No." He shook his head. "What I meant was, I fell for you first. Since that first day I saw you, I knew you were the one, even when I shouldn't have wanted you and I tried, God, I tried to resist. But I couldn't."

Her heart did a funny flip in her chest, and she could only stare at him with a ridiculous lovestruck expression. _Did he always have to be so perfect?_

"And my need to see you more probably didn't help any," she countered. "But I think as to _who_ fell first, in that case, has a little room for debate."

He smiled again at that, unable to articulate a retort. With a hand cupping her jaw he leaned down and kissed her instead, slow and steady at first; however, the moment her tongue skimmed over his lips, he suddenly wanted more. She brought her other arm around his waist, fists clenching his coat, humming her content.

The kiss became deeper then, not caring who was near and able to see. His hand moved to the nape of her neck, the tips of his fingers teased her skin there, drawing her attention from the acceleration of her heart. She sighed over his lips and he broke the kiss, lingering close for her to hear the husky undertone in his voice over the music when he spoke.

"Let's go home."

* * *

They went back to his place that night, where Ben made them hot chocolate to warm up from the bitter cold. Her legs felt like she'd been running for miles all day, and her glutes seemed to have taken a vicious beating; however, every achy muscle paled in contrast to the amount of fun that she had with him.

Rey curled up next to him on the sofa, legs draped over his thighs, using the heat from her mug of hot cocoa to warm her hands. He took a few sips from his own before he set it aside, and he began to massage one of her calves. She winced slightly as his thumbs worked over a more tender spot, noting her reaction his motions turned more gentle.

"My parents took me there every year when I was a kid," he explained. "And when we got home, my mother would make us hot chocolate. My father and I would sit by the fire and read."

She studied the soft expression on his face, lips twitching a smile. "What did you read?"

He took a breath and looked at her, head reclining to the backside of the sofa. "Black Beauty."

Her smile widened. "I always wondered if that was the case."

He nodded slowly. Brows furrowed he stared at his thumbs, rubbing circles on her leg. "I miss it. The ranch. The horses. All of it."

His confession surprised her. Scoffing she sighed. "So why don't you go back?"

He swallowed heavily and grimaced. "For you. I would do it for you."

Her expression turned serious at that. Leaning over she set her mug on the coffee table and turned to him, placing her hands on his. He stopped his massaging and looked at her.

"No, not for me," she affirmed. "For _you_. I want you to do it for you."

His lips parted ever so slight, and for a moment she thought that he might object, figuring he'd dismiss the notion altogether, as he always did when the subject came up. But he didn't.

In fact, he didn't say anything. He just simply leaned forward and kissed her, only this time it felt different. Perhaps it was because they'd professed for their love for one another or, maybe, it was something deeper. Maybe she finally reached a part of him that nobody had been able to touch.

He kissed her deeply. His hand ascended her leg to her thigh, kneading her with his fingers, while she wove a hand through his hair, gathering locks among her fingers and massaging his scalp. He groaned against her mouth, arousing that exquisite ache between her legs, a slow building of pressure, one that only he was able to relieve her of. When his lips moved to kiss her jaw and neck, she opened her eyes, breathing ragged, her hands lowered to work on unbuckling his belt. He grunted a little at that and pulled away, shaking his head.

"Not here," he uttered.

 _Seriously?_

She was about to protest, believing that was where it would end for the night, but his actions immediately silenced her annoyed huff. He took her hand without saying another word and moved her legs from his, pulling her from the sofa as he stood. Smug she followed him to the bedroom.

Once they reached the bedside he turned and began his assault on her lips, palms cradling her face, thumbs stroking her cheeks. She moaned softly, content with his neediness, as he was hardly ever so assertive. Her hands moved to his shirt, starting at the bottom button she slowly worked her way toward the top. Ridding him of the garment, her fingers brushed over his chest.

Breaking the kiss he proceeded to do the same with hers, hauling the sweater over her head and taking his time with the camisole underneath. They continued doing so like that, him helping her as Rey assisted him, leaving their shirts and bottoms sporadically scattered over the floor. When he finally had her down to nothing more than her panties and he in his briefs, his eyes greedily took her in, regarding her pair of navy boyshorts with tiny white polka-dots that resembled snowflakes. It was a look of hers that he'd seen many times before but it was always never enough. Each time always felt like it was the first, and every time he still couldn't believe that she was his.

"Christ, Rey," he breathed. He put his hands on her waist, hers cupping his shoulders. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," she whispered.

And God, how she loved being able to say that.

She told him just as much, admitting her earlier fear of him not loving her as she was in love with him. He kissed her again, taking her hands he coaxed her arms encouragingly around his neck, carefully gathering her into his. Supporting her legs and back, he carried her to the bed.


	19. Sweet Surrender

Memories from the evening before came to her in slivers when Rey woke the next morning. Some were hazy, dreamlike almost, while the rest were quite vivid. Had it not been for the tender ache between her legs, and Ben holding her with her back to his naked chest, she would've believed it all to have been just a dream.

No, thank God, it hadn't been a dream but was instead her own perfect form of reality. A reality that seemed too good to be true.

She recalled what it was like seeing him for the first time completely bare, surprised yet not upon discovering how proportionate his body was in every way. She'd taken her time exploring him, eyes first then followed by hands and mouth. She learned what quickly made him climax and what kept him hanging by a thread, while he waited for her to have her release before giving in to his own.

She remembered how patient he'd been with her, assuring that he wanted her to be comfortable before they proceeded further. He made it so easy to ignore those initial butterfly jitters that appeared inside her belly. Like everything she had done with him, sex was unlike anything she'd ever experienced. Despite her having the normal aches and pains afterward, Rey was eager for more.

But first, food was calling and she was _starving_!

Peering over her shoulder she saw that Ben was still asleep. Not wanting to wake him she carefully pried herself from his loose grip. She paused when he stirred just a little, eliciting a soft moan he rolled onto his stomach, arms sliding under his pillow. She watched him slip into a peaceful slumber again. Biting her bottom lip she stifled a laugh and discreetly left her warm place in the bed.

Foregoing her sweater, she pulled on the plaid shirt of his that was lying next to it on the carpet, fastening a few of its middle buttons to keep it clasped together and made her way toward the kitchen. She found an open box of blueberry _Toaster Strudels_ in the freezer and located the toaster hidden in the lazy Susan, inserting a squared-shaped pastry into each slot for toasting.

With a hand at her hip and the other on the countertop, she waited for the pastries to warm up from their frozen state, impatiently tapping her toes on the tile floor. After a few moments of hearing nothing more than the sound of her flesh rapping over the hard surface, a buzzing sound broke the silence in the apartment. Curiously she looked around and saw that it was coming from the island bar, finding the source of the noise was Ben's phone.

"Hux," she frowned, saying the name that appeared on the screen out loud.

The phone buzzed a few more times and then went silent. Blinking she saw it was one of several missed calls.

"What could you possibly want, Hugs," she scoffed, arms folded over her chest and staring pensively at the screen that was now blank.

She remembered Ben saying Hux would call him incessantly if matters were important enough. But if being late to chaperone a school dance was _urgent_ in Hux's eyes, then perhaps it was nothing more than the principal being his usual, over dramatic self.

Plus, she knew that Ben and Hux were also friends, so it wasn't strange that he'd be calling him over Winter Break. She tried not to think any more of it and went about icing her toasted breakfast on a small plate when the strudels were finally finished.

Having the plate of strudels in hand, chewing on her first bite from one, she wandered into the living room toward the balcony and drew open the shades to brighten the room's dim interior. Gasping, her eyes widened and a smile grew on her face at the sight of light, powdery flakes falling from the sky.

 _Snow!_

There wasn't much of it yet, and far from being snowman building material. But it was enough for the beautiful white substance to thinly coat the wooden floor of the deck. Finishing her breakfast she stood there a few moments longer, staring with tunnel-vision at the wintery scene, enchanted by its beauty. She didn't notice who else had entered the room just then, so it startled her when Ben made his presence known, loosely wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

He chuckled when she flinched, nuzzling her hair with his face, he kissed the top of her head. "You're jumpy this morning."

"Sorry," she sighed, relaxing her body against him, she noticed that he was naked still. She could feel the head of his cock prod the small of her back as he moved. Her lips twitched at that, satisfied he wasn't feeling hurried to dress.

"Is everything okay?" He whispered.

"Yeah, I'm fine" she hummed, rubbing his forearm with a hand for reassurance. She raised the empty plate in the other for him to see. "I was just hungry. Then I sort of got distracted."

"I see," he grunted, lowering a hand to her hip and giving it a squeeze. He took her plate with the other and turned to set it on the coffee table behind him. "So it finally decided to snow."

" _Finally_ ," she beamed. "Your phone was buzzing earlier, by the way, while I was making breakfast. There were several missed calls that showed up."

Ben was quiet for a moment. "Okay."

She noted the pout in his voice yet he never asked who the calls were from, neither did he seem concerned by the large sum of those he'd missed. Having both hands on her hips, he nudged himself closer to her, alerting her of how much his cock had stiffened since she last felt it. It was all she had needed to confirm as of why he didn't bother tending to his phone. And Rey didn't press for him to either.

It was tempting to turn and look at him, or reach a hand behind and stroke his length. But instead, she pretended not to notice the apparent erection right away. It was always more fun teasing him.

Feigning ignorance, she kept her focus on the outdoors where the snow had begun to fall harder, as his hands descended toward the apex of her legs. Only then did she feel the budding warmth in her core, pleading to be touched like he'd touched her earlier. Her thighs quivered the closer he drew near, breathing in sync with the rapid beating of her heart. She could hear that he was very much doing same as she, his mouth hovering by her ear.

Lulling her head back to his chest, she moaned as he teased her nub with the pad of his index, coaxing her legs further apart. Bringing a free hand to the collar of her shirt he pulled the fabric aside to leave a trail of wet, hot kisses along the crook of her neck, the other tracing the outer lips of her cunt. Her mind went completely blank, every discussion and thought prior to then rendered moot.

 _So much for ignorance, Rey..._

"How are you feeling?" He moaned into her skin, muffling his words.

She didn't answer right away, too high on the ecstasy of how good his hand and mouth made her feel to focus on anything else. Moments went by and she still hadn't uttered a word. It wasn't until after he paused when she realized he'd asked her a question. Raising her chin she saw that he was staring at her, waiting for her to answer.

"Just a little sore." She scrunched her nose, then smiled. "But in a good way, it'll pass."

"Are you sure?" He grimaced.

She nodded. Biting her bottom lip she put a hand on the top of his, encouraging him to continue without saying more.

"Okay, that's good to know," he crooned, kissing her forehead off to the side. "Because you look fucking incredible right now."

Red tainted her cheeks at the compliment, wondering why when she should've been used to hearing them. He always told her how beautiful he thought she was, never giving her a reason to doubt or believe otherwise. Even now, when she was wearing nothing more than an oversized shirt, no makeup, and severe bed head, he still considered her beautiful.

Craning her head to his shoulder, he kissed her deeply. With her hand still on his, she guided his fingers toward her entrance again, his other crossed over her chest, sliding his hand beneath the hem of her shirt and massaged her breast. She whimpered softly over his lips when he touched her center, not realizing how sensitive she'd become until she had nothing more to focus on but him.

"So wet for me already," he groaned, inserting one then two digits inside of her.

She cried out in stilted breaths when he entered her, keeping a loose hold on his wrist, she brought the other back and clutched his thigh, mewling as Ben eagerly pumped her cunt with his fingers. With a hand busy there, his other lavished attention to her breast, palming her tenderly, his lips flourished her neck with kisses.

His fingers crooked inside of her then, working the plush area that would surely send her over the edge and seeing stars. When her walls began to constrict around him, he lowered his hand from her chest to her clit, applying the right amount of pressure to the small bundle of nerves on her nub, enhancing the effect as she neared finishing.

Bringing her hands up she clasped the back of his neck with her fingers, using him for support as her legs had grown weak. He worked her like that until she clenched her eyes, throwing her head back, her mouth fell agape. Convulsions surged through her body and she came undone, leaving her within an array of bliss as he held her waist to keep her steady.

"I love you." He kissed the crown of her head, hands ascending to her ribs. "I don't think you'll ever truly know how happy you make me."

"I think I do," she gasped, tilting her chin toward him, fingers caressing the base of his hair. "Because I'm hopelessly in love with you too."

Grinning he kissed her forehead and began working his lips down the side of her face to her cheek to her neck. His knees bent slightly as his mouth lingered on her lower neck, gathering her legs he picked her up and carried her to the sofa, sitting with her positioned across his lap.

The kisses that they shared were slow and lazy at first, giving her time to recover from her pleasure high. When she finally came to, she was ready to get what she wanted and she deepened the kiss, determined to make him come as he had made her.

Hands on his shoulders she shifted her position, digging her knees into the cushion she straddled either side of his hips, his hands firm on hers. His breath hitched in his throat when she took his velvety cock in hand.

Slowly, she started to pump him, staring deep into his eyes, appearing darker than their normal shade of honey brown. His lips twitched a smile and she leaned over and kissed him, hard and sloppy then became feathery as her lips moved to his jaw and neck. His head rolled back into the sofa's plush backside, thrusting his hips as best he could with her movement, hands tightening their hold on her into a more punishing grasp.

He groaned her name out in a hushed, low voice. Oh, how she wanted him inside of her then, noticing the small line of pre-cum that trickled down his shaft, coating her hand with its warmth, she knew he was more than ready for her as well.

"Rey," he groaned heartily, breathing rapidly.

Halting her actions she held him steady, keeping a firm grip on the back of the sofa for support, she rose onto her knees. His eyes opened then as he felt her move, watching her tease the head of his cock between her sopping hot folds.

"Take your time, sweetheart," he assured, lowering his hands and gently massaging her thighs, knowing she was still tender from the night before.

Releasing a soft cry she lowered herself onto him, hands in fists on the sofa, taking him slowly with an inch at a time. The pain that existed before was no longer as apparent, but was more of a subtle ache with liberal fullness, stretching her in the most ravishing of ways.

Allowing herself a moment for the discomfort to pass, she pressed her forehead to his, steadying her breathing and focusing on his whispered words of appraisal, telling her again she was beautiful and how amazing she felt to him. Her hips finally moved over his, slow at first then gradually quicker, finding her reprieve she closed her eyes.

He gazed up at her in awe, watching through hooded eyes as she rode him, noting how her expressions grew more intense whenever he met her thrusts unexpectedly. Her brows furrowed to the center, eliciting a sob when he did it again. And again. His soft grunts shadowed her moans. And then, just when he felt her inner walls tighten, he finally took over.

Straightening his back he wound an arm crosswise over hers, muscles flexed he kept a strong grip underneath her arm. She gave a startled squeak when he shifted their position, not once allowing them to break apart, he moved her so she was lying over the cushions in a fluid motion.

Planting a knee into the cushion he kept a foot on the ground for balance, her leg drawn over his hip, her legs parted with a hand on her knee. With his other hand on the arm of the sofa behind her head, he hovered above her, driving into her with deep and shallow thrusts. Bringing a hand behind her, she seized hold of his wrist, the other on his side below his ribs. Arching her back she met his thrusts with her own.

The pressure inside her rose to an intensity that was more surmount than ever. Her nails dug into his wrist, toes curling as the build ascended to a new extreme. He quickened his pace, his thrusts faster and harder, his breathing matching the speed of hers.

Crying out she came undone in a mad surge that ravaged her body and mind, drowning his moans with hers as he slowed in motion, releasing his warmth inside her in spurts.

Chest heaving, he stared at her as her senses came to be more coherent, both disappointed when he pulled out with a groan. Carefully he lowered himself to her, caging her in with his arms. Raking her fingers through his sweaty bangs, she kissed him deeply, slowing to gentle pecks.

"That was…"

"Amazing?" He smirked.

Scoffing her lips puckered in thought. "Truthfully? There are no words."

"You make an excellent point," he mused. "But since there are none - amazing will have to do."

"Hmm...yes." She kissed him again, palming her hands along the plain of his back. "We deserve a shower too. But before anything, I _really_ have to pee."

"Okay," he chuckled, rising for her to stand.

She took off in a trot down the hall toward the bathroom, leaving him behind in silence, watching her leave. The snow was falling heavier than before in thick chunks of white fluff.

Knowing she would love to experience its wonder outside, he considered taking her to the ranch after they finished cleaning up. Snow was always better in the country than it was in the city; maybe even take her for a ride on Kylo in the process.

A buzzing sound broke the quiet in the room then, turning his attention from the window to the phone he'd left on the bar after they got back the previous night. He rolled his eyes when he saw the name displayed on the screen. Swiping the green bar he heaved a sigh, raising the device to his ear.

"What is it, Hux?"

* * *

 **I know what you guys are probably thinking...and you're all probably right for what's going to be coming up but please let me assure you 1) I love Ben and 2) This is Ben! I have every intention of making this as painless as possible 3**


	20. Home Is Where the Heart Is

Rey emerged from the bathroom just as Ben ended the call. With a casual flick of his wrist, he flung the phone to the countertop in front of him, indicating the conversation with whoever hadn't ended well. Although, she had a strong suspicion as for _who_ that other person might've been. After many failed attempts that morning Hux must have finally reached him.

Standing hunched with his palms suctioned to the bar, Ben didn't hasten to explain the reason for his reaction when she approached. With his focus heavily boring through the device like it had caused his distress, he hardly acknowledged her presence. The apartment was uncomfortably quiet save for the hum of shower water running through conduit. Before she had left the bathroom she turned it on, wanting it warm and ready for them.

Her mouth opened to ask what the conversation was about but then quickly thought against it. Her stomach began to churn, implying she already knew. His tense body language. Limited talk. The phone calls. It all pointed to the notion of their secret no longer being theirs. It was a fear that'd haunted her since the start of their relationship.

Choosing to stay mute she bit her bottom lip and raised a hand to gently touch his shoulder, gaining his attention after he hesitated to look. Turning at the waist, he folded his arms over her shoulders and pulled her towards him. She buried her face into his bare chest and wrapped her arms around his torso, breathing him in deeply, while he kissed the crown of her head.

"Let me guess, Hux," she murmured, turning her face she pressed her cheek to his sternum.

He said nothing further beyond a nod. The motion only made her tighten her hold on him, fearing the response to her question. It wasn't necessary to ask really, but rather than assuming like she always did, she needed to hear him say it.

"What did he say?"

Ben didn't reply right away. While he prolonged the anticipation her anxiety was boiling over. His tranquility of the matter though was more than telling.

"Enough," he whispered ominously.

Furrowing her brows, she raised her head and looked at him, imploring him to say more. "What do you mean _enough_?"

"Enough," he repeated again, wincing. "And nothing that you need to worry about right now."

Her brows creased at his shortness, magnifying the scowl that crept to her lips. "Now isn't the time to clam up on me, Ben," she chided. "There's only one reason for him to call so many times, and leaving you acting so out of touch afterward. If it's about _us_ then I deserve to know."

He took a breath and pursed his lips, relenting. "He just said it was about you, saying that he and I needed to talk."

There it was, the confession that brought upon a whole new onslaught of questions to her head. Did that mean that Maz knew also, assuming that Hux had called her too? How did he find out? Was it Rose who blabbed and had somehow come back to Hux? She was certain it hadn't been Sabine, knowing how close she was to Ben. Out of a dozen other queries, she found herself only asking one.

"When?"

"I don't know."

Her brow quirked. "You don't know?"

"Rey, I need to figure out what to tell him first," he affirmed, his timbre reining a more serious tone. "I need more time. I refuse to let this tarnish you and your success in school. And saying the wrong thing could do just that."

"And what about you?" She countered with narrow eyes. "You're always thinking about me. Why not think about yourself for once? Because this hurts _you_ , in a whole lot more and worse ways, than it does me."

Ben didn't reply and lowered his eyes from hers. Breaking their embrace, she pulled away and stared at him accusingly. "You're taking the blame for this aren't you?"

Closing his eyes, Ben heaved a sigh. "That's _not_ what I said."

"But you are!" She exclaimed in shock, arms crossing over her chest. "In so many words, _yes_ , you are. And why? Because _this_ ," she motioned a hand between them, "this wasn't one-sided. _Both_ of us wanted this just as much as the other. I'm not some helpless, high school teenager who was coaxed into having an affair with her teacher."

"Now you're being irrational and putting words in my mouth," he snapped, raising his voice enough to make his point. "If you would just _listen_ and let me explain -."

Blinking, her mouth fell agape, eyes glossy with moisture. "I'm irrational because I care about you? Because I love you?" She snorted, cutting him off. "Wow, okay…"

Ben looked defeated and began to speak in a softer tone. "Rey, come on, don't do this."

Shaking her head, she turned on a heal, sauntering with heavy footsteps down the hallway toward the bathroom, ignoring him when he called her name. She wasn't mad at him, not really. But it wasn't until after she closed the bathroom door when everything suddenly hit her. The tears. The emotions. _Everything_. Every pent-up emotion came barreling through her with a vengeance.

How could they have gone from making love to arguing within a matter of minutes? Had she really been that unreasonable with him? Immature, even? And had it been so wrong for him to care about her future when it meant putting his own on the line?

 _Fuck, yes, to all of it._

Despite being confused over it all, she realized that she hadn't given him the chance to explain. She should've been more receptive when it was clear that, between her and Hux's demands, everything had likely been too much for him to swallow. Rather than listen, she panicked, assuming the worst like she always did whenever the going got tough. What she should've helped him decide was where to take things from there.

Reflecting over it all she knew there was no excuse other than being afraid. Afraid of losing _him_ , the man who had filled the void in her heart that was left after her parents died. Her best friend. The only person aside from Maz who knew her inside out. The only person who effortlessly brought out the best in her. Maybe she should've told him that instead of lashing out…

Using the sleeves of his shirt she dried the tears from her eyes, striving to pull what she could of herself together. With a quick glance in the mirror, her tear-stained cheeks and bloodshot eyes confirmed that the effort was fruitless. He would know she'd been crying. She had to remind herself that that was okay. He'd seen her at her worst before.

She took a breath and opened the door. Startled, she flinched when she saw Ben standing there, hands grasping the doorframe as if he were debating whether or not to knock. Not giving him the chance to react she immediately threw her arms around his neck, taking him by surprise. He hesitated for a moment, before returning the gesture.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed, feeling his arms tighten over her ribs. "I just can't lose you, Ben. I can't and I won't. I'm sorry but please - don't do anything stupid."

"No, you were right when you said this affects both of us because it does," he assured, drawing his head back to look at her. "For that, I'm sorry, too. And I know you're not helpless, far from it actually. But if I'm not careful with words when I do talk to him, it's going to sound that way and it'll make this much worse for us. Hux isn't Dameron. He can be reasonable when he wants to be. But if he wanted to be a dick about this, it could very well become the school board's problem."

Sighing, she nodded. "So what happens next?"

"Just give me time," he grimaced. "I told Hux I was away this weekend due to last-minute holiday plans and that I'd get ahold of him at the beginning of next week. It'll give me a chance to figure everything out."

"Okay," she scoffed. "That's fair, I suppose."

"Trust me on this, okay?" He murmured, stealing a kiss from her lips. "You won't lose me, I promise. We'll get this worked out."

"I hope so," she hummed, comforted by his reassurance. "If not, I know where you live."

A weak laugh parted from his lips before he kissed her again, hands cradling her face. "I think we better shower now. I was planning to take you to the ranch before this shit happened."

Her eyes glistened at the thought of seeing Kylo again. "We still can. I think the fresh air would do us both some good. Hopefully, there's hot water left." She scrunched her face then. "If not, you'll just have to walk around naked a little longer."

"Is that such a bad thing?" He groaned, giving her ass a playful squeeze.

"I wasn't complaining," she purred, rising on her toes for another kiss. "You can go in first."

"That would be very rude of me," he declared. "I was always taught that ladies should go first."

Snickering, she stole another kiss, before taking him by the hand and leading him to the shower. Adhering to her suggestion Ben was the first to step in while she rid herself of the plaid attire, reassuring her that the water was warm - _barely_. But being there, with him, had more than made up for it.

Aside from having limited warmth they took their time. With hands lathered in soap, they worked over the other's body with vigilant care, filing away every mole and freckle with every blemish and curve that was missed earlier into their memory, as the water raining down from the shower head washed away their worries.

Now, having her mindset to a more positive outlook, her sole focus was _him_. How much she loved him. How much she wanted him. And how much they needed each other.

Allowing the water to cleanse their bodies from the remaining suds, his mouth captured hers, kissing her with a fervor that neither had ever experienced with the other, awakening her longing to be closer to him. He carefully helped her position herself onto the bar where washcloths normally draped, holding her hips firmly in place with his hands while he centered himself between her legs, her feet propped on the tub's inner rim.

Her hands clung to his shoulders, whimpering softly over his lips as he thrust his swollen cock into her with ease. Her head reclined to the shower wall's cool porcelain, focusing on that pleasurable fullness he gave her. Flourishing kisses over the wet skin along the column of her neck, he drove them toward that bittersweet stage of nirvana, which always seemed to come so abrupt.

Clinging to him like a lifeline, her body trembled and shuddered over his, crying into his shoulder as the ecstasy gushed through her. Feeling her tremble he ceased his movement and held her hips firmly to his, releasing his spend deep inside her.

* * *

After bringing Rey to her apartment for a change of clothes she discovered that Maz was still in the dark: figuratively and literally. She had been asleep for her shift later that evening. Ben understood if she decided to ever tell her aunt of his status, but she replied that Maz had always known him to be Ben Solo, the man who she had fallen in love with at the ranch. From a certain point of view, it was true.

It was early in the afternoon when they arrived at the ranch. The snow had just begun to taper off, leaving no more than a thin layer of white carpet on the ground, twinkling like diamonds under the sunlight. The air was crisp and breezy, laden with the smell of burning timber from fireplaces. It was the perfect picture of an Indiana winter in the countryside.

Rey insisted that they say _hi_ to Han and Leia before they went riding. Ben said otherwise, assuring her to go without him since he planned to have a talk with his father later. It would give him time to be alone with his thoughts - and confide in someone else. Someone who had always given him comfort whenever life was stressful. And he knew precisely where to find him.

Taking a bridle from the accessory rack, he found Kylo munching on a fresh clump of hay at the back corner of his stall. His raven coat had grown shaggier and fuller for the cold months ahead but was still nonetheless beautiful. His ears perked at the sound of Ben unlatching the lock to his door. Lifting his head the stallion turned to see him approaching.

"Hey there, boy," Ben smiled, patting the horse on its rear haunch. "I've missed you. I would ask if you've missed me too, but that's probably not necessary, huh?"

With a loud snort, Kylo shook his head and returned to eating his hay.

"Oh, so it's gonna be like that now?" He mused with a raised brow. "Right when I consider coming back you give me the cold shoulder."

Kylo raised his head again, revealing the new batch of hay in his mouth. Nodding, Ben stroked the plain of his neck then, giving his shoulder a pat when finished

"I know, I'm kinda surprised myself," he grunted. "I really fucked things up here, didn't I? I was stupid and shouldn't have left, knowing that I was needed; especially by you and I was selfish," he winced. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to realize how wrong I was. I've been thinking about it for some time now and if it hadn't been for Rey -."

He paused at her name with a smile tugging at a corner of his mouth. She was the only person who had been able to break his outer shell, the catalyst of his journey toward self-forgiveness. She had taught him to let go of the past. She had made him want to be Ben Solo again.

Clearing his throat he looked at the bridle in his hands, worrying its coarse texture between his fingers. "She's the best thing to have come out of this, you know. She helped me get my life back. Made me want to, actually."

Now finished with his snack Kylo turned his head and met his master's gaze, giving Ben his undivided attention. It felt just like old times between them. Like when he used to spend hours in the stable as a boy, stating his greatest fears and biggest aspirations to his beloved horse.

"I wanted you to be the first to know that, as always," Ben murmured, brushing a hand over his muzzle. "I haven't told my parents yet though. I was going to when we're finished riding."

Kylo snorted louder than the prior one, causing Ben to flinch. He gave Kylo a look of reprimand before he began working the harness into place.

"Yes, _I do_ ," he scoffed, "every time."

Over the brief period that it took for him to finish securing the final clasp on the bridle, the snow outside had completely stopped. Reins in hand, he led Kylo from the stall, the clip-clopping of hooves echoed throughout the loftiness of the barn. Rey greeted them at the front entrance, hands shoved inside her coat pockets. Seeing the pair approach she withdrew one and patted Kylo low on his neck.

"Your mother was busy baking," she explained to Kylo, meaning the words for Ben. "I'm not sure where your father was though. I didn't see him."

He furrowed his brows, presuming that his father was hidden away in his den. Han always did that whenever he wanted a sense of quiet and likely troubled over something. "And I suppose she wondered where I was at."

"Mmhmm," she hummed, returning her hand to its pocket. Her attention drifted to him. "I promised her you would be in later, that you just needed to clear your head of some things first. Are you going to tell them tonight?"

She was referring to the discussion they had on the way. Heaving a sigh, his fingers raked through his wind-tousled hair. He knew Hux would give him an ultimatum: end the relationship with Rey or resign from teaching. Leaving her was definitely out of the question, which led to him wanting to give his parents the retirement they deserved.

"Yeah," he nodded, turning from her he retrieved a small step-ladder propped alongside an empty stall.

"Good," she affirmed, regarding him through soft eyes. "I'm proud of you, Ben. I know this isn't an easy decision for you to make, but you're doing the right thing. For _yourself_ and for them."

He knew she was right. She had been right all along, about how he was a completely different person at the ranch than who he was at school. He also knew how relieved his parents would be when he told them, and saying he wanted to take over the ranch was likely the greatest gift he could give them for Christmas. He told her just as much. She responded then with a simple kiss.

"Anywho," she huffed, pivoting on a heal she turned toward the prep station. "I'll grab his saddle."

"No."

She froze mid-stride and cast him a puzzled look from over her shoulder. "No? How's come?"

"Because," he grinned crookedly, "we're riding bareback."

Blinking, she stammered to reply at first. He immediately began to second guess the thought, as that tiny sliver of doubt crept into his head. Maybe this was him reliving the past again. Maybe this was officially taking it a step too far. Only more experienced riders ever wanted to try riding without a saddle. Christ, maybe he was a shitty teacher overall.

"We don't have to though," he added for good measure. "It is a bit intimidating and I know that you're still getting used to riding so-."

"But you'll be with me, right?" She asked, cutting him off.

Stunned, he nodded. "Yes, I'll be right behind you. I was gonna give you control over the reins, set the pace to what you're comfortable with."

With a satisfied smile on her face, she took a step back to him. "Then that's all the reassurance I need. Let's do it."

"Are you sure?" He frowned.

"You've never given me a reason not to trust you," she assured confidently. " _Ever_. And I have no reason not to now."

He considered her, apprehensive but relieved when he couldn't find a single gleam of mistrust in her eyes. It shouldn't have been surprising, yet the amount of faith she always had in him never ceased to amaze him.

"Alright." Taking a step from Kylo, he gestured toward the ladder with his hand. "Hop on."

* * *

The hours went by in a flash as Rey steered them from one gravel road to another. With a song of silence in the air, they mostly heard Kylo's hooves trudging through snow, unscathed by tires from cars. It was what he loved most about the country: having little to no interaction with society, unlike the city. In fact, they passed maybe two vehicles during the outing. They even saw a small herd of deer graze from a far distance in a field.

The serenity made it easy for him to ponder over all that had transpired earlier in the day. Rey never said much either, as if she knew the peace was what he needed. She seemed happy with his arms being around her, holding her while she led Kylo down every new road. Everything felt like it had fallen into place for a reason. He had Rey. He had Kylo and his family. He realized that teaching in a school, where his anxiety was always at its highest, held no place within his bubble of comfort. And for the first time that day, he was finally content with his decision.

It was nearly twilight when they returned to the barn with Kylo, where Ben treated him to a bag of grain. Aside from the sky growing dark it was early in the evening, so it came to be no surprise when they found Leia still scurrying about in the kitchen, rounding up dirty dishes and bakeware.

There were sugar cookies in a variety of different holiday shapes lying on the countertops: bells, gingerbread men, stars, and stockings. Seeing they were bare from any decorations Rey offered Leia her help with the icing.

While the two of them stayed busy there, Ben went looking for Han. Just as he had suspected, his father was in the den at the furthest sector of the house. It was a small room, loaded with every memoir of their horse-showing years, across from Ben's old bedroom.

Clearing his throat he gained Han's attention, which had previously been focused on a picture that was of himself and a younger Ben and Kylo, similar to the one at Ben's apartment.

"Hey kid," Han smirked, setting the picture aside on his desk for the moment. "I was just - looking."

Ben snorted quietly, burying his hands inside his denim pockets. "Is that all?"

Han pursed his lips. Ben could hear the gears grinding in his head from where he stood at the doorway. "And thinking."

Nodding, his eyes lowered to the moisture staining the leather toes of his boots. "So have I."

Han levitated a brow. "That's never a good sign."

"No," he grunted. "It's nothing bad. Well, part of it isn't."

"Oh boy here we go," Han sighed, propping his elbow on the arm of his wheelchair. "What did you do now?"

Chewing his bottom lip he hesitated briefly, giving himself one last pep talk. "The school found out about me and Rey."

Han fell silent as a grave, his expression solemn. "What are you going to do?"

Ben wet his lips. "I'm gonna tell them next week that I plan to resign."

"And then what?" Han scoffed. "No school will hire you again because of this."

"I'm done with teaching," he declared. "At least with high school."

"That also applies with colleges, too, Ben."

Ben took a breath. "I want to come home - for good and teach here. I want you guys to be able to retire."

Han went silent again, though it wasn't sadness that painted his face. It was a much lighter emotion, but heavy within the same aspect. "You know your mother won't take that news too kindly. She'd work herself to the grave. If not here then as a people greeter at Walmart."

Ben smirked and nodded. "That's true. Okay, so part-time then."

Han smiled. It wasn't the typical sidewise smirk or halfhearted grin he always gave but a full, tooth-revealing grin. The last time he saw his father smile like that was after the show where Ben had won first place, before Han's accident.

Within a few short strides, he met his father's open arms sharing a long embrace in companionable silence. Patting a hand on the plain of Ben's back, Han gave him a curt nod after they parted.

"Welcome back, son."


	21. Bittersweet

_**Here it is guys, the final chapter before the epilogue! :sobbing: Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me through this crazy story 3 I love you all!**_

* * *

Ben spent the days following Christmas and New Year's planning his resignation. Classes at Mishawaka High would resume the week after. Right now he had a chance of making the transition smooth and peaceful, without adhering to questions of students and other teachers. One week had certainly given him ample amounts of time for pondering explanations to every possible question, including the obvious ones that Hux would likely ask first.

When did it happen? How did it happen? _Why_ did it happen? Things like that for which he could offer simple answers to. Then there was the 'what in the fuck is wrong with you?' kind of question he would throw in out of spite. Though he also might say ' _Are you fucking insane Solo_?' And truthfully, to a certain extent, maybe he was right. Ben figured he could respond to that with _he no longer cared_.

Because really, he didn't. Whether he was truly mad in the head or not, he had Rey. He had his life back at the ranch. It was all that mattered to him really, and the only reassurance he needed. That his reason for throwing away his career as an educator hadn't been because he'd fallen for a student. At least, to a certain extent, that wasn't entirely the case.

If only he had come to terms with that missing piece sooner. He hoped it would make Hux's understanding of the situation easier; however, at the same time, _not_ wanting it to sound like an absurd sob story. After working weekdays, and sometimes weekends, for several years together, he'd grown accustomed to Hux's inner workings. He knew of the things that made the redhead's mind function at lighter levels, even those that also made him insufferable.

Bearing all of that in mind he believed it was possible for the conflict to end with a fair, civil resolution. The pair would shake hands afterward and go their separate ways as usual, just like old times, when he found himself sitting in the principal's office during one of many passing periods.

Except when the day came for their meeting at the local Sports Bar & Grille he was suddenly reminded of everything he had to lose. The potential of it all going south at the slightest misuse of words, where he would end up pleading his case to the school board and officials considered a lot worse. It was a predicament with severe consequences that Hux couldn't save his ass from over a phone, neither did Ben expect him to. Perhaps he should've ordered a tumbler glass with a few shots of _Wild Turkey_ instead of a 16oz _Bud Light_ ; which, he spent nearly a half hour nursing, at a secluded table in the bar's furthest corner, anticipating Hux's arrival.

He spent a solid portion of the time staring off in a daze. His eyes were fixed on one of several televisions streaming the latest NFL game yet he failed to comprehend what he was seeing. His ears drowned out the obnoxious applause and shouts, whenever the customers' favorite team scored. And he also never noticed Hux when he'd first arrived.

The screeching of barstool feet across laminate made Ben flinch from the trance, aware now of who'd taken the empty seat beside him. For the first time since he'd known Hux, he hadn't the faintest idea as to what he should say. Had their meeting been under better circumstances he would've uttered a smartass remark, something stupid about Hux's disheveled hair or, depending on his mood, if he hadn't gotten laid the previous night. Thankfully their waitress approached before the initial tension became too unbearably awkward.

"Hey there!" The server greeted Hux cheerfully. "Can I get you started with anything to drink, hun?"

Hux puffed his cheeks, examining their choices on tap through narrow eyes. "Heineken, please. Tall."

The server nodded and turned away to retrieve his drink. Ben bit the inside of his bottom lip and glanced at Hux, nodding curtly. "Hux."

Hux nodded in return. "Solo," he muttered shortly, leaving the silence that followed uncomfortably thick.

 _Now what?_ They'd managed to exchange _hellos_ quite benignantly. Was it time to throw out the regular conversation starter _how's the weather_? Or maybe take it the next step further and ask _how was your holiday_? He was a fucking grown-ass adult! Why was it suddenly so hard to act like one?

So Ben proceeded to do what any man his age would've done, and that was calming his nerves by taking a long gulp of beer from his glass. Hux moved to do the same when the server returned shortly after to deliver his own.

Scoffing, Hux settled the glass on its coaster. "So," he began, furrowing his brows and clasping his hands over the table, "about Miss Kanata."

Ben nodded, lips rolled between his incisors. "I know," he frowned, folding his arms. "And I need you to hear me out on this before you say anything."

Hux snorted. "It better be a fucking damn good excuse, Ben," he hissed, leaning across the table. "Because you're lucky it was me who saw you kissing a student at the rink and no one else. How long has this been going on?"

Ben drew in a sharp breath and swallowed, carefully weighing his words. "Intimately, a few months."

" _Intimately_." Hux pinched the bridge of his nose. "Jesus Christ, I seriously can't believe we're having this discussion right now."

"Neither can I," Ben snarked, taking another sip of his beer.

"This _isn't_ a fucking game, Solo," Hux sneered, his voice retaining a low octave. "Do you have _any_ idea what could happen to you if word of you fucking around with a minor got out?"

" _Nothing_ happened while she was under eighteen," Ben countered, a pointed glare in his eyes. "Which she is now. I swear to God that's the fucking truth."

Hux raised a brow. "Oh, so her being eighteen is supposed to make this better?" He scolded, jabbing a pointer into the table. "Eighteen or not, the fact of the matter here is that _she_ is a student. _Your_ student. If you hold any value in your self-worth and your job, you need to end this relationship with her. Period."

Grimacing, Ben shook his head. "I can't do that." Leaning his elbows onto the table he continued to explain before Hux had a chance to issue his comment. "And before you say anything more I just want you to know that my decision isn't just because of her. I've been thinking about resigning for a long time. This has just given me the incentive to finally do it."

Hux was silent for a few moments, and Ben almost expected him to object. Surprisingly, he didn't and instead looked relieved.

"I know you have," Hux sighed, rolling his eyes and conforming to Ben's posture in his seat. "You've been a pain in my ass for the past few years now. I should be ecstatic that I'll no longer have to save you from pissed off parents."

Ben smirked. "Yeah, I guess so," he quipped in accord, reaching for his drink."

"But you do realize how this decision affects you in the future, right?" Hux asked, cocking his brow. "If you two become more public together now, no high school or university will hire you."

"I know," Ben nodded, returning the glass to its coaster. "Believe me; I have no intentions of going back to that sort of classroom."

"I kinda figured, but I thought I might as well throw it out there just in case," Hux confessed, taking a gulp from his own glass. "But Christ, Ben, why didn't you wait until she graduated at least like m-."

Stunned at first, Ben perked his brows. "Really, like you? And who are you waiting for?"

"Fuckin' no one," Hux grumbled, with a scowl. "The alcohol has me talking nonsense shit again. Ignore me."

Ben chuckled, leaving a brow raised in suspicion. "Alright then."

Hux promptly changed the subject. "So when are you putting your resignation in?"

"Today," Ben affirmed. "Probably right after we're done here. Then I can get my shit cleared out of the classroom and be done."

Hux nodded, inquiring of his career plans after Ben resigned. Ben told him about his parents' ranch and that the decision had been long in the making. He briefly covered parts of his father's condition and how he had wanted them to retire by taking over, leaving out the complicated details of his past. They stayed there for no longer than an hour, conversing of various topics, beyond school and the ranch, before it was time to leave.

"Good luck, Solo," Hux extended his hand for a shake. "It'll be weird without you there, not gonna lie."

Ben snorted. "Well, you have my number at least. And I know that _you_ know how to use it."

They shared a quick laugh then parted ways. Ben knew it was likely that Rey was worried how his meeting with Hux had gone. Taking his phone from the back pocket of his jeans, he began texting her.

* * *

Rey had just taken her seat next to Rose at the nail salon when the phone buzzed in her hands. Eagerly she glanced down to see what it read, hoping the text was from Ben.

 ** _\- Ben Solo 2:23 P.M. -_**

 _Finally free_

"Thank fucking God," she breathed, releasing a long sigh in relief.

"What's wrong?" Rose scoffed, glancing from the newest issue of _Vogue_ that she had opened to Rey.

"Ben just texted me," Rey admitted, her thumbs swiftly rapping the digital keys. "About his and Hux's meeting"

 ** _\- Rey Kanata 2:27 P.M. -_**

 _And? How did it go?_

 _What did Hux say?_

"Oh!" Rose squealed, leaning to see the text for herself. "What did he say?"

Shaking her head, Rey held her breath as they waited for his message beyond the wavering dots to appear.

 ** _\- Ben Solo 2:27 P.M. -_**

 _At first, just as I'd expected_

 _But it's okay_

 _I'm getting ready to leave and put in my resignation_

"Apparently everything went well then?" Rey beamed, stating its implication out loud.

"That's awesome!" Rose praised, nudging her elbow gently against Rey's arm. "See, haven't I been saying you had nothing to worry about?" She assured, reverting m to her unread article.

"Yeah, I know," Rey huffed, smiling obtusely at the device while typing another reply.

 _\- Rey Kanata 2:28 P.M. -_

 _That's great!_

 _I may have been a tad bit worried…_

 ** _\- Ben Solo 2:29 P.M. -_**

 _Exactly why I messaged you as soon as I left_

 ** _\- Rey Kanata 2:29 P.M. -_**

 _You know me and my worry-wart self too well 3_

Although proclaiming herself a 'worry-wart' was certainly undermining the anguish she'd felt. She had been locked in constant vexation since Ben brought her home earlier in the day. With her aunt sleeping in preparation for her shift and the apartment in utter silence, she had nothing but the deafening resonance of thoughts as company. During a genuine attempt at staying occupied she read _Black Beauty_. But the notion foundered at the heartbreaking scene of Ginger's death.

Surfing through _Netflix_ 's variety of rom-coms had also been futile, and so was unpacking the last remaining box of junk in her room. No matter what she did she always resorted to asking herself ' _what if_ '. So when Rose inquired whether she'd be willing to join her for an afternoon of self-pampering, she seized the opportunity without hesitating.

Doing her nails was never at the top of her to-do list, but she was desperate for something - _anything_ \- to keep her mind busily engaged until she heard from Ben. And listening to Rose blather on about nothing important for an hour had done precisely that.

 ** _\- Rey Kanata 2:29 P.M. -_**

 _Rose kept me occupied though_

 _We got pedicures_

 _I'm waiting for my toes to dry now_

 ** _\- Ben Solo 2:31 P.M. -_**

 _Okay, this shouldn't take long_

 _I'm going to the school afterward to pack up what I_ _have_

 _You can meet me there if you want_

 ** _\- Rey Kanata 2:31 P.M. -_**

 _Sure! Which door though since they're locked?_

 ** _\- Ben Solo 2:32 P.M. -_**

 _I'll leave the east entrance open_

 _See you then, love you_

 ** _\- Rey Kanata 2:32 P.M. -_**

 _Alrighty, love you too_

"You two really are ridiculously cute," Rose gushed, shaking her head at the magazine in hand. "Like, the sickly kind of cute that should be made illegal."

Rey snorted at that, her brow quirked in regards to Rose's comment. "You're making it sound like a bad thing."

"Definitely not bad," Rose brooded. "Just makes me wish for a little more in my own relationship is all."

Rey wrinkled her face. "Why? Are you and Finn having problems?"

Rose shrugged a shoulder. Dropping the magazine to her lap, she purposely turned to Rey, lips partially agape.

"I mean, yes and no? If that makes any sense at all," she explained, tightening the corners of her mouth. "I mean, don't get me wrong, Finn's a wonderful guy and I love him dearly. But there's just no spark between us anymore. No romance. Or anything, really. Seeing how Ben acts around you has made me realize what's missing."

Rey frowned. "I'm sorry -."

Rose snorted. "No, definitely don't be sorry," she interrupted, gesturing a hand to Rey. "I'm _really_ , really happy because you deserve everything that he does for you."

Rey's smile grew a little wider, then took a breath. "So, what are you gonna do? Are you gonna break up with Finn?"

Rose shrugged again. "We'll see," she smiled. "If so, I have no doubts that he and I can still make it work as friends. We've been friends since elementary so it was more or less one of those ' _what the hell let's give it a try'_ kinda thing last year."

Rey nodded. "I get it, but that's good though. Either way, as long as you're happy that's all that matters."

"Exactly," Rose conceded.

"I mean, of course, you could always put Hux down as an option," Rey teased, waggling her brows suggestively.

"Uh, probably not," Rose attested, reclaiming the magazine on her lap. "He's a little too proud of his job to fuck it up in that way."

Rey shrugged, reclining further into the seat, she opened the _Angry Birds_ app on her phone. "Who knows, he just may surprise you one day."

"We'll see," Rose repeated, and left it at that.

Once their nails were finished drying, she and Rose paid their estheticians and left. They hugged one another cordially outside the salon before they parted for the remainder of the day in separate vehicles. The school was located at the other end of town so it wasn't that far of a drive.

Since classes weren't in session yet she quickly found Ben's truck in the empty parking lot when she arrived and steered Maz's rickety, old station wagon into a space alongside it. Just as he had told her, the eastern entrance was unlocked.

The hallway leading to his classroom was dim and eerily quiet, a fragment liberated by the light radiating from Agricultural Science's open doorway. Rey realized then, the next time she would enter the Ag room come that following Monday morning, Ben wouldn't be there to greet her. The brief trek from the entrance to his room suddenly grew unwittingly nostalgic.

She should've felt happy, relieved even, that their relationship wasn't bound to the terms of secrecy anymore. And she was relieved, truly, and deeply. However, at the same time, she also felt - sad. But the emotion was fleeting and receded as soon as she saw him, and instead of sorrow, she was subdued by comfort.

Folding her arms loosely over her chest she stood at the threshold of Ben's classroom, silently observing while he sifted through a pile of papers in his lap. Unaware of her presence at the moment his eyes remained fixed on the task, transferring some of the documents from a bureau's bottom cabinet drawer into a box. The rest he tossed into a nearby trash can. Smiling she stayed that way for a minute or two then cleared her throat, announcing her presence as she wandered in.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Mr. Solo," she goaded deviously.

Ben raised his head from the stack of papers, conferring a lopsided grin.

"Not at all, Miss Kanata," he grunted, straightening his back and tilting his chin expectantly for a kiss. Wetting her lips she planted a swift peck to his mouth.

"Good," she hummed, shedding her satchel and coat, she dropped them to the floor beside his desk. "Need some help?"

"Sure. There's really not much that needs packing as I had expected." He nodded to a side drawer. "You can start in there though and see if anything's worth keeping."

Nodding, she knelt in front of the drawer that he'd motioned to and promptly began sorting its contents. When she wasn't certain if a file should be kept or not she raised it to his view for approval. They continued working that way until they were down to the last file folder and a few random belongings.

"You know, there's something I'd always meant to ask you but never did," he confessed, sealing a lid over the box of documents. "Why did you take this class?"

"You mean besides getting the chance to show off my superb seed-planting skills?" She squinted coyly up at him, implying she'd meant it as a joke. "Actually, I wasn't given much of a choice. The other classes were full when I registered, and it was either this or Study Hall."

Ben looked genuinely surprised, reclining in his chair he crossed his arms. "Really? _My_ class won out over Study Hall? That's a fucking shocker right there."

Rey snickered and rose to her feet. "Well, if it's any consolation it wasn't _that_ bad of a class." She shrugged, favoring her hip against the edge of his desk, her hand steadily splayed along its top. "And I guess its teacher wasn't so bad either."

Ben smirked. "Trust me, you're not the first who's ever told me that."

Rey cocked her head. "I sense a _but_ lingering in there somewhere."

Ben shrugged. "Nothing out of the ordinary for a student who's only interested in passing the class, without doing the actual work. Usually, detention set 'em straight and they transferred a day or so afterward."

"Hence you gaining the title of being a pretentious asshole?"

He chuckled then. "Precisely. It's an honor to have acquired such an accomplishment, really. Going down in the yearbook voted as Mishawaka's most unpopular teacher is quite a dream come true."

"Well, I beg to differ," she challenged a glimmer of mischief in her eye. "I personally would have voted you the sexiest."

"Oh really?"

"Mmhmm," she crooned. Bending at the waist, she lowered her face close to his, her expression feigning innocence. "And just between us, I totally would've fucked you too."

His irises dimmed a shade darker, his voice an octave lower. "That's not much of a secret though. You already have, several times actually."

"Yeah." Her eyes flickered to his mouth then back to his eyes. "But we've never done it here. It was always a fantasy of mine, too."

His breathing hitched at that, his eyes hungrier. "And how did that fantasy usually go?"

"Well," she paused in thought, "I was hoping you could refresh my memory cause it was you who always chose the position."

Ben was at an utter loss for words, though the lust in his eyes elicited everything she needed to know of his mute response. Taking a step closer to him she closed what little distance was separating them and kissed him fiercely. Speaking of such fantasies to him had easily made her panties damp, the deep moan that emanated from his chest when she palmed him through his jeans throttled her to the core, pleading for attention as he was her only remedy for release.

"Turn around," he groaned, and she immediately complied.

Heart racing in her chest, she hustled her skinny jeans beneath her knees, as Ben hurriedly worked his below his waist, just enough to give his cock freedom of the articles' tight confinement. Spreading her legs far enough apart for his entrance she leaned on her forearms over his desk, his hand holding her steady at her hip while he teased the head of his cock over her glistening folds, slowly easing himself inside her to the hilt with a single thrust.

He took his time at first, drawing out every second as he withdrew his cock from her cunt, driving into her at a force more abrupt than before. Along with every snap of his hips, he sent her gasping for more, chanting for him to go faster, harder, their heavy pants and grunts filling the room and empty hallway. Every time he bottomed out inside her she quickly drew closer to the edge of falling apart.

Slithering a hand underneath her sweater he tenderly massaged her breast, his other set to work on her clit. Just a little coaxing was all she had needed, as he pounded into her, she came undone around him and he hastily followed with his own.

"Holy sweet Jesus," she gasped, feeling lightheaded, her body trembled in the aftershock.

Ben kissed her shoulder, steadying her feeble frame with his hands at her waist. "We should've done that a lot sooner."

Breathless, she nodded in agreement and proceeded to carefully pull her jeans over her waist after Ben withdrew his softened cock from her pussy. She turned to face him and he granted her a chaste kiss, holding her face with one hand, his other fidgeting with the button on his jeans.

"Late is better than never though, right?" She suggested, stealing another kiss.

"Very true," he smirked, securing the tongue of his belt through its clasp. "What do you say we get these boxes out of here and grab something to eat?"

She beamed at that because it was the first time they could eat together a restaurant and not worry about being seen. "I think that sounds fantastic. Since it's your lucky day, you choose."


	22. Epilogue: Rock In My Life

_**Here we are guys, the final chapter! It's been fun and I hope you've enjoyed the story as much as I have writing it. 3**_

* * *

 **Summer. Four years later.**

Holding the soft gaze of the figure before him, Ben prepared himself to ask one very important question. Taking a deep breath he repeated the words in his head for the hundredth time that morning. For the past several months every spare second was spent carefully going through the words and motions.

Now feeling confident with his plan Ben was certain he'd hear a _yes_ from Rey. At least he hoped. But since she'd left for graduation rehearsal at the university earlier he set aside party preparations and made Kylo his designated guinea pig.

Swallowing down the sudden wave of butterfly jitters as Kylo eyed him expectantly, flicking an ear, clearly not amused, as Ben found his voice. "Rey, will you marry me?"

 _What in the hell was that?_ It was definitely _not_ what he'd been rehearsing. And he'd just stood there foolishly as if everything had suddenly been blocked from his memory.

"Shit, that's not how it was supposed to go," Ben scolded, firmly palming his eyes. "And I forgot to kneel, didn't I? Let's do it again. One more time."

Lowering to one knee on the lush summer turf Ben extended a palm to Kylo, absent of the engagement ring that belonged to his grandmother Padme Amidala-Skywalker, due to arrive at any moment with his parents from their winter home in North Carolina. If any of the ranch staff was watching they'd likely consider the act absurd but Ben didn't care.

Because how often was a man able to ask his girlfriend to marry him the day of her college graduation? Not to mention he'd planned to propose in front of guests who were expected to show later at the party. There were no 'ands' or 'ifs' about it, he couldn't screw it up.

Schooling his emotions back to somewhat normal, Ben took another breath. "Rey," he breathed, "I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you please marry me?"

Ignorant as to what his master was wanting to accomplish Kylo snorted and abruptly veered his attention toward a patch of grass, the mid-afternoon snack Ben had so rudely interrupted. Slumping his shoulders Ben rolled his eyes, his annoyance set on Kylo.

"Thanks for helping, buddy," he praised though the words were anything but genuine. Of course, he wasn't really mad. Kylo was just a horse. And it wasn't his fault that Ben was such a fucking wreck.

"You could have offered him a carrot or two if you wanted him to be a bit more receptive, you know," Sabine hollered, perched on the top of a corral post behind him.

"Not a bad idea actually," Ben sulked. With a heavy sigh, he rose to his feet, dusting a bit of soil from the knee of his slacks. "You wouldn't happen to have any with you at the moment, would you?"

"Do you always need to act like the sky is falling?" Sabine groaned. "You're being ridiculous."

Grimacing, Ben ambled towards her, hands buried deep inside his pockets. "I just want it to be perfect," he explained, worrying his bottom lip between his front teeth as he approached. "I had everything figured out earlier and now..." He left the words hanging as he leaned his lower back against the wooden fence, sighing. "Now I've totally fucked it up."

Sabine considered him. "So, what? You think by giving some sort of grand speech it'll make Rey think differently of her answer?"

Ben shrugged, his brows furrowed. "I don't know. Maybe, I guess. Isn't that what most women would want to hear?"

She snorted. "Clearly you need this broken into simpler terms for you. So, let's start at the beginning shall we?"

Ignoring the apparent wounded expression on his face Sabine proceeded to hold out three fingers of her left hand, the pointer of her other ready to count each digit.

"First and foremost, despite knowing the odds were against you, she wanted to be with you. Second, she loves you, and if you need me to remind you of that I'll slap you upside the head. Lastly, and here's the real shocker," she gestured air quotes for further emphasis on the word, "Rey moved in with you after your parents retired down to Wilmington. You're practically married now!"

Ben grunted then. "Asking someone to marry you is a whole lot different than asking them to move in with you, Sabine. Or to date you."

"Ben," she sighed exasperatedly, slouching her posture, "the point I'm trying to make here is that neither of those needed some well-rehearsed proclamation for her to make up her mind about you. Do you understand that much at least?" His nod of assurance encouraged her to continue, a faint smile curling her lips. "Good. Also, if I know Rey, she'll prefer something more heartfelt, which I know you're capable of. Just breathe and let it come to you naturally, okay?"

Ben took a breath, nodding in agreement as he shifted on his feet. "I know. And you're right. Rey would like it that way."

"Of course I'm right," she affirmed with a smug grin. "I always am. What would you ever do without me?"

"I wouldn't be tooting your horn just yet," he warned lightly.

She clapped him on the shoulder. "You're gonna be fine, I promise. Now come help me hang this banner before your parents get here."

" _Now_ who needs help?" He goaded.

"Yeah, yeah, you can have your uses at times, Solo."

Chuckling, Ben shook his head, trailing not far behind her. They made their way toward the front of the house where the party would be held.

With the help of a few other workers, every table and chair was placed outside the garage. Balloons and other party decor in Indiana University's colors of red and white sat on table tops. All that was needed was the food and cake from the kitchen. And Rey's engagement ring.

The hour was approaching noon when Ben realized his parents hadn't arrived. Their flight had been early, they should've been there by then. Before he had a chance to call or text his mother the phone buzzed as he was retrieving it from his back pocket.

 ** _\- Mom 11:57 AM -_**

 _Stuck in traffic._

 _Will meet you at the ceremony - Dad_

 ** _\- Ben 11:58 AM -_**

 _Okay. You remembered the ring, right?_

 ** _\- Mom 12:01 PM -_**

 _Why, were we supposed to bring it?_

Ben's heart nearly catapulted from his chest when he read the text, and his thumb hadn't been able to hit the _call_ button fast enough. While the phone rang he started to pace, down and back again over the gravel drive.

"Hi dear," Leia greeted after the third ring. "Sorry, we had some trouble with the rental car at Enterprise. Now we're at a standstill in traffic."

"Please tell me that you _did not_ forget it," Ben gritted through his teeth.

He heard his mother huff. "Oh, so that's the only reason why we were invited?"

"Mom!"

"Calm your shit, Ben, your father was just kidding."

"Jesus Christ," Ben sighed in relief, his thumb and index massaging his eyes. "So you _did_ bring it then?"

"Yes, it's in my purse," she assured with a leveled tone. "And the trip was quite pleasant thanks for asking."

"Sorry, it's just - it's been a rough morning is all."

"Well, I'm sure whatever it is it can't be any worse than spending four hours on a flight with your father."

Ben scoffed. "You just said it was pleasant."

"It was," she affirmed, "after he finally fell asleep."

Snorting, Ben rolled his eyes.

"But as I was saying, we'll see you there in a little bit," Leia added.

"Alright," he nodded. "The ceremony is at 2:00 so you guys still have plenty of time."

Briefly exchanging goodbyes Ben ended the call. After a morning of everything going wrong (or just about), he was more than ready now to pop the question.

* * *

"Rey!"

Turning in her seat at the table with Han and Leia and Maz Rey looked towards the direction of the voice that called her name. She saw Rose coming up the driveway, clad in a pair of wedged sandals with a bohemian amber-colored backless sundress. As always her glamorous appearance made her seem as if she had walked fresh from the runway.

"Rose!" Rey squealed, bearing a smile that quickly spread to her eyes she lunged from the chair and met Rose halfway, greeting her with a warm hug. "I'm so glad you could to make it tonight!" she exclaimed.

"Me too but I'm so sorry I'm late!" Rose explained once they had parted. "I tried getting the night off but apparently everyone at the salon had the same idea as me."

"Oh, well, it's fine really. I'm just glad you were able to make it," Rey assured, folding her arms over the champagne-colored silk of her dress, her brows furrowed then. "Where's your boyfriend?"

She snorted at that. "Talking with yours already." Pivoting on her heel Rose pointed a finger toward Hux and Ben, heavily engaged in conversation by the refreshments.

Rose and Hux's relationship was the true epitome of enemies to friends to lovers. Following Rose's break-up with Finn near the end of their high school senior year, the duo had only gotten closer. But just as Rose had stated to Rey earlier that year, she and Finn remained close friends; even after Finn had moved to New York with Poe, attending college there. Rose had stayed behind to attend a cosmetology program at a local beauty school. Rey pursued a degree in veterinary medicine.

Within a matter of months after graduating high school Rose confessed to the blossoming relationship with their former principal. To Rey, it hadn't been that much of a surprise when she'd noticed the subtle changes in them through the remaining days of the school year. Though for Ben it was unexpected since it was Hux who'd given him the ultimatum.

"I should've known," Rey remarked.

"So what have you been up to doc?" Rose teased, moving to claim a seat at one of the nearby empty tables. Rey did the same, taking the chair opposite hers. "I'm so proud of you by the way! You've been working your ass off for this."

Rey beamed with pride. "I'm still far from being called _doc_ , but I'm at the halfway mark I suppose."

"Yeah, but still this is such a huge accomplishment! And I'm sure Ben is really proud of you too."

"What about me?" Ben asked, cutting into the conversation, a glass of champagne in each hand.

"That you're proud of me," Rey happily divulged, receiving one of the two glasses he carried and a kiss.

"Very much. And actually, I've prepared a little something special for you."

Clearing his throat, Hux claimed the seat alongside Rose, offering her a glass as well. "This is gonna be good just so you ladies know," he remarked. Rose's smile grew knowing.

Before Rey had been able to ask either man what was going on Ben raised his glass to the air, calling for everyone's undivided attention. Her skin burned crimson at the aspect of having every pair of eyes at the small gathering trained on her. As much as she hated being the center of attention she managed to put on a happy face.

"I'd like to offer a toast for the person who this evening is dedicated to, Rey Kanata," Ben announced to all who were present, gaining a soft round of applause. Rey's cheeks grew tomato red.

Taking a breath Ben lowered his gaze to Rey, the hint of a smile shaping his lips. "Rey, five years ago you came into my life, and I've had the privilege of watching you become the incredible woman who you are today. Through every obstacle, I've watched you face them head-on. Fearless. And always ready to face new upcoming challenges life has in store for you. You have been that rock in my life when it was I who should've been yours."

Tears immediately swelled behind her eyes as an echo of _aws_ followed his words.

"Together," she mouthed for his ears to hear only while everyone took their sips for the toast. "We've done this together."

His grin only proceeded to widen. "And here's to many more years. Together."

Blinking she furrowed her brows as Ben handed his drink to Hux, retrieving a small velvet black box from his pocket, and then he knelt on one knee before her. While Rey caught her breath everything seemed to be reeling in slow motion, her ears drowning out the sharp gasps in the background.

"Ben…" she uttered slowly, setting her drink on the table. "What are you -."

"Rey," he murmured hoarsely, opening the lid to reveal the box's content. An elegant circular-cut diamond embraced by entwined waves of a white gold band, with four other strategically placed diamonds the shape of hearts in opposing corners of the larger diamond. "Will you marry me?"

Ben hadn't needed to ask her twice. Amidst the tears plunging over her cheeks, Rey managed to choke out a _yes_. A loud series of whoops and hollers in approval rose from the crowd while he slid the ring over her finger, both eager for the kiss that followed, as Rey held him in place securely with her arms around his neck.

"Finally!" Rose exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how hard it's been keeping that secret this whole time?"

Parting from the kiss Rey gaped at Rose, as Ben moved for a congratulatory handshake from Hux. "Wait, you that this was going to happen?" She accused.

Rose nodded. "Ben told Hux and Hux might've let it slip once a few months ago." Turning to Hux she regarded him pointedly, her brow raised. "Speaking of which, where's mine?"

Hux snorted. "We'll see."

Sharing a laugh with the group Rey drew Ben in for another kiss, knowing there were others who wanted to see the ring she would surely to be swept away from him the rest of the evening. All the while doing so she found it hard to believe she would be calling him her fiancé, that she was finally marrying her best friend. That they were taking the final step in their relationship, and building a life together at the ranch.

"I love you, Ben Solo," she sighed over his lips.

Cradling her face between his hands he placed a final kiss tenderly to her mouth. "I know."


End file.
